US Jobless Claims are at 351K. Early expectations stood on a rise from last week’s 348K (according to the initial report) to 352K this time. The figure for last week was revised to the upside from 348K to 351K, so there was no change.
The 4 week moving average, which clears some of the weekly noise, continues to show improvement. It dropped from 366K last week (after revisions) to 359K this time.
All in all, the numbers are within expectations and point to a continued positive and gradual improvement in the US job market.
According to some estimates, claims under 400K mean that the unemployment rate is going down. The recent Non-Farm Payrolls showed a gain of 243K jobs in January and a drop in the unemployment rate to 8.3%.
Another drop is likely in the next jobs report, due on March 9th.
EUR/USD is trading in a high range after reaching a new 2012 high. Nevertheless, it didn’t break resistance and the moves seem a bit limited.
Resistance is at 1.3333. Support is at 1.3280, followed by 1.3212. For more on the euro, see the EUR/USD forecast.
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