U.S. initial jobless claims drops modestly, may rise in weeks ahead

U.S. initial jobless claims dropped modestly. For the week ended 8 July initial jobless claims dropped to 247k from an upwardly revised 250k coming slightly higher than consensus expectations of 245k. The four-week moving average moved higher to 246k, after the upward revision to the earlier week’s print.

Continuing claims for the week ending 01 July also dropped lower to 1945k from an upwardly revised 1965k. The insured jobless rate remained stable at 1.4 percent. In all, claims data remained consistent with low rates of job separation in the labor market, noted Barclays in a research report.

The initial claims data is expected to move higher in the weeks ahead, reflecting the auto makers’ decisions on the timing and length of the shutdown process, which according to news reports, might be longer than normal, added Barclays.

At 15:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index US Dollar was neutral at -32.7629. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex

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