U.S. initial jobless claims fall in mid-July to lowest since December 1969

U.S. initial jobless claims have fallen to the lowest level since 1969 in mid-July. For the week ended 14 July, initial jobless claims dropped to 207k, from an upwardly revised 215k in the prior week. This is the lowest reading since December 1969. The outturn was below consensus expectations of 220k and took the four-week moving average lower to 221k. Overall, today’s report adds to the evidence of a sound labor market. Claims had begun moving higher in mid-June, lead to question whether it could be the fallout of protectionist measures, noted Barclays in a research report. However, the fall in the past two weeks implies no such effect on labor markets yet. However, the data would be monitored in the weeks ahead.

Today’s report on claims includes the survey week for the July employment report, as it includes the 12th of the month. At 207k, claims are lower than that recorded for the June survey week, and indicates towards another strong month of employment gains in July. Meanwhile, continuing claims for the week ended 7 July rose to 1.751k from 1.743k. The insured jobless rate remained steady at 1.2 percent.

At 14:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was highly bullish at 63.5786. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex