Initial Jobless Claims in US Decreased Below Expectations

Weekly jobless claims in the U.S. decreased by an estimated 99,000 last week as data released by U.S. Department of Labor Thursday shows. The number reached 1,314,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits in the week ending July 4th, better than market expectations at 1,375,000 and higher than the previous week at 1,413,000.

The US dollar index continued to move in a limited range below 96.50 and posted a 0.06% decrease to 96.42.

Quotes

“The 4-week moving average was 1,437,250, a decrease of 63,000 from the previous week’s revised average.”

“The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 12.4% for the week ending June 27, a decrease of 0.5 percentage point from the previous week’s revised rate.”