ECON: Jobless Claims Slightly Lower Than Expected
- Claims 372k vs 363k Consensus, 350k Previous
- 4-Week Average up to 360k from 359,7650
- Continued Claims up to 3.245 mln from 3.201 mln
- Market Reaction: Helping bond markets dig in a bit against ADP-related selling. MBS just now ticked back to unchanged on the day. 10yr yields still struggling to avoid break above 1.86
In the week ending December 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 372,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 362,000. The 4-week moving average was 360,000, an increase of 250 from the previous week's revised average of 359,750.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.5 percent for the week ending December 22, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending December 22 was 3,245,000, an increase of 44,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,201,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,224,250, an increase of 6,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,217,750.