US Jobless Claims Plunge to 339K – Change in the Air?

The number of unemployment claims in the US jumped to levels last seen in much better days: 339K. It’s officially the lowest since February 2008, when the US was just at the beginning of the Great Recession. Last week’s number was revised up from 367K to 369K.

Together with the positive NFP report, has the US job market turned a corner? Or is it only due to seasonal adjustments?  EUR/USD continues its slow grind higher. USD/JPY is going up as well. A “risk on” move.

Seasonal adjustments are always a factor, and the data relates to the first week of the new quarter, which usually sees big changes.

The US also released the trade balance figure, which saw a wider gap than last month: 44.2 billion dollars. This was within expectations of -44.1 billions

This positive figures comes just after the IMF lowered its forecasts for global growth and painted a very gloomy picture. Could the United States return to be the locomotive when China is slowing down and the European recession looks deeper?

This figure, if not significantly revised next week, will also have an impact on the US Presidential Elections. For more, see  Dollar Loses Less Under Obama than Under George W. Bush

— Updates coming —