U.S. initial jobless claims rise modestly, continue to indicate towards strong labor market conditions

U.S. initial jobless continue to indicate towards strong labor market conditions. In the week ended 12 May, claims rose 11k to 222k, coming in modestly above consensus expectations of 215k. Despite the rise, claims data have shown strong momentum this year and imply labor market conditions remain healthy, stated Barclays in a research report.

In spite of the rise, the four-week moving average dropped to 213k from 216k a week ago. The Labor Department reported that no special factors were influencing the report and just a few states were estimated.

The four-week moving average is closing in on the historical lows in the series, but still has some ways to go. The historical low in the four-week moving average in initial claims is 179k in 1969. However, the current levels of initial claims are the second-lowest recorded values since the late 1960s. For the week ended 5 May, continuing claims dropped 87k to 1.707 million, sending the four-week moving average lower by 40k to 1.774 million.

The insured jobless rate dropped to 1.2 percent, which is a new record low in the series dating to 1971. The previous low of 1.6 percent was reached in early 2000; the current insured jobless rate is below this  level and might drop below 1 percent later this year or early next year, stated Barclays.

At 17:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was neutral at 21.5803. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex

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