U.S. jobless claims rise slightly in mid-March

Jobless claims in the U.S. were little changed. In the week ended 17 March, the initial jobless claims came in at 229k, widely in line with expectations of 225k. This brings the less volatile four-week moving average to 224k, slightly higher comparative to the prior week’s 222k. However, this measure of claims continues to be close to historical lows and implies very low rates of job separations in the labor market.

The report released today includes the survey week for the March employment report, and at 229k, claims are slightly higher than the 220k recorded in the February survey week. But, with claims running at or below 230k for ten straight weeks, another month of healthy employment gains can be expected in March.

Meanwhile, continuing claims for the week ended 10 March dropped to 1.828k and the insured jobless rate was unchanged at 1.3 percent.

At 13:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was slightly bearish at -68.613. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex

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