The first weekly jobless claims report in 2014 begins with 339K. The number of claims was expected to stand at 334K after 341K last week (revised up from 338K). Continuing claims stood on 2.923 million before revisions. They slid now to 2.883 million. Continuing claims remain under 3 million, but they aren’t going to far away from this round number.
The dollar was stronger towards the publication, with EUR/USD plunging to 1.3660, GBP/USD to 1.6490 and USD/JPY at 105.30. The dollar is marginally weaker after the release, but still enjoying most of its earlier gains.
Update: the initial weakness in USD was quite short lived, and the greenback returns to the levels seen beforehand.
For EUR/USD, the new year’s breakdown is also a loss of long term uptrend support. Towards the end of 2013, the pair continued rising along the line, but it lost it afterwards.
This publication serves as a minor hint towards the Non-Farm Payrolls on Friday. A more important hint comes from the ISM Manufacturing PMI, and especially its employment component.
See how to trade the US ISM Manufacturing PMI with EUR/USD.
