U.S. initial jobless claims drop modestly, labor market to rebound moderately in 2017

U.S. jobless claims fell modestly at the end of January. In the week ended 28 January, the initial jobless claims fell to 246,000, as compared with consensus projection of easing to 250,000. The four-week moving average rose slightly to 248,000, mostly due to the rise in claims in the earlier week. For the week ended 21 January, continuing claims also dropped to 2064k from an upwardly revised 2103k.

State wise, the decline in initial claims was mainly driven by a few states that recorded significant drops. On a seasonally adjusted basis, Pennsylvania, California and Illinois recorded the biggest decline where initial claims fell 2.5k, 7.3k and 1.5k respectively. Similarly, the decline in continuing claims was driven by major falls in a few states.

In all, the initial jobless claims report for January end strengthened the view of a moderate rebound in U.S. labor markets in 2017, noted Barclays in a research report. Moreover, these low levels of layoffs are expected to underpin consumer spending and sentiment, added Barclays.

At 06:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was neutral at -28.122. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex