Initial jobless claims in the US rose to 388K. A rise from last week’s initial surprising figure of 339K to 370K was expected. Last week’s figure was indeed revised to the upside, but only to 342K. It was undoubtedly an outlier.
EUR/USD was trading steadily around 1.3120 before the release. USD/JPY was on the move, trading at 79.30 prior to the release and is now sliding lower. Update: USD/JPY now shakes off the retreat and ticks higher.
A figure of above 400K is considered to reflect a loss of jobs in the economy, while a figure below this level reflects job creation according to some economists. The number of claims fell to around 360K earlier in the year, then climbed to around 380K and recently slid again.
This jump should be take with a grain of salt, after last week’s big drop, which was suspicious as well. In the previous publication, there was a report saying that one state missed some of the data. The suspect fell on California.
There is another big event awaiting today: the Philly Fed Index. See how to trade this event with EUR/USD.
