|

US: Weekly Initial Jobless Claims rise slightly to 203K vs. 195K expected

  • There were 203K initial claims in the week ending 7 May, a tad above the 195K expected. 
  • Continued claims saw a much larger than forecast drop. 
  • FX markets did not react to the latest weekly jobless claims report. 

There were 203,000 Initial Jobless Claims in the week ending on 7 May, a little above the expected drop to 195,000 from 202,000 one week ago, data released by the US Department of Labour on Thursday showed. As a result, the four-week average number of Initial Jobless Claims rose to 192,750 from 188,500 a week earlier. 

Continued Claims fell to 1.343 million in the week ending on 30 April, larger than the expected decline from 1.387 million to 1.38 million. The Insured Unemployment rate nonetheless remained unchanged at 1.1% for the week ending on 30 April. 

Market Reaction

FX markets did not react to the latest weekly jobless claims report. 

Author

Joel Frank

Joel Frank

Independent Analyst

Joel Frank is an economics graduate from the University of Birmingham and has worked as a full-time financial market analyst since 2018, specialising in the coverage of how developments in the global economy impact financial asset

More from Joel Frank
Share:

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD remains on the back foot below 1.1850

EUR/USD is back on the back foot on Wednesday, slipping below the 1.1850 area as the US Dollar picks up some modest traction. The move comes as traders position ahead of a busy run of US data and the release of the FOMC Minutes. Adding to the pullback are reports that the ECB’s Lagarde may step down before completing her term.

GBP/USD flirts with daily highs near 1.3580

GBP/USD manages to set aside two consecutive daily declines and trades with slight gains in the 1.3580 zone on Wednesday. Cable’s uptick comes despite acceptable gains in the Greenback and easing UK inflation figures, which seem to have reinforced the case for a BoE rate cut in March.

Gold retains bullish bias amid Fed rate cut bets, ahead of Fed Minutes

Gold sticks to modest intraday gains through the early European session, reversing a major part of the previous day's heavy losses of more than 2%, to the $4,843-4,842 region or a nearly two-week low. That said, the fundamental backdrop warrants caution for bulls ahead of the FOMC Minutes, which will look for more cues about the US Federal Reserve's rate-cut path. 

Pi Network rally defies market pressure ahead of its first anniversary

Pi Network is trading above $0.1900 at press time on Wednesday, extending the weekly gains by nearly 8% so far. The steady recovery is supported by a short-term pause in mainnet migration, which reduces pressure on the PI token supply for Centralized Exchanges. The technical outlook focuses on the $0.1919 resistance as bullish momentum increases.

Mixed UK inflation data no gamechanger for the Bank of England

Food inflation plunged in January, but service sector price pressure is proving stickier. We continue to expect Bank of England rate cuts in March and June. The latest UK inflation read is a mixed bag for the Bank of England, but we doubt it drastically changes the odds of a March rate cut.

Top 3 Price Prediction: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple face downside risk as bears regain control

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple remain under pressure on Wednesday, with the broader trend still sideways. BTC is edging below $68,000, nearing the lower consolidating boundary, while ETH and XRP also declined slightly, approaching their key supports.