US ''PRIVATE SECTOR'' UP+

WASHINGTON : American firms hired at a blistering pace in April, the fastest in nine months, kicking off the second-quarter of the year with a bang, according to a payroll data released on Wednesday.

The private sector data comes on the day the Federal Reserve was due to make its pronouncement on interest rates and added to the conflicting dynamic facing central bankers with data showing the economy continues to grow but with few signs of accelerating wages or inflation.

US private hiring surged by 275,000 new positions - beating the consensus forecast by more than 100,000.

Driven by a large and huge increase in the dominant services sector which posted the biggest gain since mid-2016, payroll services firm ADP reported.

However, economists may take the increase with a grain of salt.

The data show the ''economic soft patch at the start of the year has not materially impacted hiring,''  said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, which jointly produces the report. [AFP]