The number of weekly jobless claims in the US dropped to 397K, a bit better than 401K that was expected, but not a major surprise. This publication continues the trend of a very gradual drop in unemployment claims. Last month’s figure was revised from 401K to 406K.
This drop could be reflected in a lower unemployment rate, perhaps 9% instead of 9.1%. A drop under 380K would be much more significant, but this will probably take time.
Currencies are not affected by this move, but rather by the madness surrounding the political situation in Greece.
In other US news: the Non-Farm Productivity rate rose by 3.1%, more than 2.6% that was expected. Unit Labor Costs dropped sharply by 2.4%, triple the early expectations for a drop of 0.8%. These figures might be good for the economy but point to drops in prices and danger of deflation.
The markets are awaiting the rate decision in Europe and the press conference. See the ECB preview for details.
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