U.S. jobless claims remain stable near recovery-level lows, claims fall to 210k in mid-August

Jobless claims in the U.S. continue to be stable near recovery-level lows. In the week ended 18 August, the initial jobless claims dropped by 2000 to 210k, modestly below consensus expectations of 215k. The four-week moving average dropped from 216k a week earlier to 214k. Continuing claims also dropped by 2000 on the week to 1.727 million in the week ended 11 August from 1.729 million in the prior week. The four-week moving average in continuing claims fell from 1.741 million to 1.726 million. The insured jobless rate remained stable at 1.2 percent for the fifteenth straight week.

This week’s report on initial claims overlaps with survey week for the August employment report. Initial claims continue to be stable close to recovery-level lows and are widely unchanged from the July survey week, noted Barclays in a research report. At 210k and 214k, the level of initial claims and the four-week moving average, respectively, for the August survey week are widely unchanged from their levels in July.

“The signal from the claims data remains one of low rates of job separation and points to another solid month of employment in August”, added Barclays.

At 13:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was neutral at 12.6447. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex