US jobless claims continued rising and reached a worrying level of 379K. They were expected to fall from 368K to 336K. Recent falls and jumps were taken with a grain of salt by market participants. The 4 week moving average rose to 343.5K. Continuing claims also advanced to 2.884 million.
The US dollar was strengthening once again towards the publication, with EUR/USD sliding below 1.3660. The pair is now on the rise.
This is the first jobs related figure released after the Fed’s decision on QE tapering. While the headline is certainly depressing, the computer issues and the recent volatility in this indicator tend to soften its effect.
Later in the day, the US releases three more economic indicators: existing home sales, the Philly Fed manufacturing index and the CB Leading Index.
Further reading: Sweet Dectaper is still a taper – USD has the upper hand
