Options market bets are increasing that the Federal Reserve will keep rates unchanged for the whole year.

A growing number of options traders are ruling out a 2026 rate cut by the Federal Reserve, instead betting that it will keep rates unchanged throughout the year. This trend can be traced back to at least last Friday, when US jobs data showed an unexpected drop in the unemployment rate. Market pricing indicated that this virtually eliminated the possibility of a Fed rate cut this month, prompting more traders to postpone their expectations for the timing of rate cuts in the coming months.