[BlackRock’s Rosenberg said next week’s inflation data will be even more critical after the Non-Farm Paycheck exceeded expectations] On September 4, BlackRock’s portfolio manager Jeff Rosenberg said that U.S. employment growth significantly exceeded expectations in August, highlighting the importance of next week’s consumer price index as Federal Reserve policymakers consider whether to raise interest rates. "This basically confirms our previous judgment on the labor market and brings the focus and pressure back to inflation," Rosenberg said on Friday. "Whether the Fed will raise interest rates at the September meeting depends on whether inflation is rising, or whether inflation is not falling fast enough." Rosenberg said that if the CPI released on September 11 continues to show progress in inflation, "I think they will stand still." "Only if this jobs report is unusually weak would it reduce the probability of a rate hike," Rosenberg said. Friday's data is "more about paving the way for next week, for the inflation data."