USA: Weekly unemployment benefit claims rise to 225,000 versus 220,000 expected

• Initial claims for jobless benefits in the United States increased by 6,000 in the week ending September 28.
• The US Dollar Index DXY remains in positive territory slightly below 102.00.

There were 225,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits in the week ending September 28, according to weekly data released by the US Department of Labor (DOL) on Thursday. This figure followed the previous week’s reading of 219,000 (revised from 218,000) and was slightly worse than the market expectation of 220,000.

Further details from the release revealed that the seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% and the 4-week moving average stood at 224,250, a decrease of 750 from the previous week’s revised average.

“The seasonally adjusted advance insured unemployment number for the week ending September 21 was 1,826,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level.” the DOL further noted in its publication.

Market reaction

The US dollar did not show an immediate reaction to these figures. At press time, the Dollar Index was up 0.3% on the day at 101.90.