U.S. initial jobless claims rise in late March, but indicate solid labor markets

U.S. initial jobless claims rise slightly at the end of March, but continue to indicate solid labor markets. In the week ended 31 March, jobless claims rose to 242k, as compared with consensus expectations of 225k. This brings the less volatile four-week moving average to 229k, slightly higher than 225k seen in the prior week.

This measure of claims continues to be close to historical lows and implies very low rates of job separation in the labor market. Meanwhile, for the week ended 24 March, continuing clams dropped to 1.808k from 1.872k, and the insured employment rate remained unchanged at 1.3 percent.

At 14:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was neutral at -0.265053. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex

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