U.S. jobless claims remain unchanged, in line with sound labor markets

U.S. jobless claims continue to be consistent with strong labor markets. For the week ended 23 December, the jobless claims were unchanged at 245k, slightly above consensus expectations of 245k. The four-week moving average rose a bit to 238k; however, it remains near the lower range of the levels seen prior to the storm disruptions.

Meanwhile, continuing claims for the week ended 16 December rose to 1.943 million from 1.936 million. The insured jobless rate remained widely stable at 1.4 percent. In all, this week’s claims data imply no considerable change in labor market conditions from a month ago, and this is in line with healthy labor markets, stated Barclays in a research report.

At 19:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was bearish at -91.2071. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex

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