As the US economy grows only the unexpected can halt an interest rate rise

With the jobs market growing it looks increasingly likely the Federal Reserve will end its dithering and raise the cost of borrowing before Christmas

Plenty could happen between now and 16 December when the Federal Reserve has to decide whether to raise interest rates for the first time since 2006. Stuff happens. As Harold Wilson once famously said, a week is a long time in politics.

But barring something completely unexpected, it now looks increasingly likely that the US central bank will end its dithering and raise the cost of borrowing just before Christmas.

Related: US economy adds 211,000 jobs as interest rate hike nears