Initial jobless claims rise in U.S., insured jobless rate falls to 1.3 pct

Initial jobless claims in the U.S. rose in the week ended 11 November. The claims increased by 10,000 to 249k, as compared with consensus expectations of a modest decline to 235k. The four-week moving average rose 7k, to 238k. Some of the miss to the expectations might be due to Puerto Rico, where initial claims data have increased with a delay in the aftermath of the landfall of Hurricane Maria.

Initial claims, on a seasonally adjusted basis in Puerto Rico rose 1260 to 9164. Elsewhere, claims data in Florida continue to indicate to further normalization in labor market activity. In Florida, claims dropped 985 to 8007. However, the weaker-than-expected reading in Puerto Rico was not sufficient to account for all of the forecast miss and the overall release is slightly weaker than anticipated, noted Barclays in a research report.

Meanwhile, continuing claims dropped 44k to 1.860 million from 1.904 million in the week ended 4 November. This leaves the four-week moving average down to 1.887 million from 1.896 million and pushed the insured jobless rate to 1.3 percent.

At 16:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was slightly bearish at 8.22007. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex

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