US weekly Initial Jobless Claims decline to 202K vs. 220K expected

• Initial Jobless Claims in the US decreased by 19,000 in the week ending December 9, the lowest level in eight weeks. 
• Continuing Claims rose to 1.876 million in the week ended December 2, below the 1.887 million of market consensus. 
•  US Dollar Index trims losses, recovering from four-month lows after the report and following Retail Sales figures. 

There were 202,000 initial jobless claims in the week ending December 9, the weekly data published by the US Department of Labor (DOL) showed on Thursday. This print followed the previous week’s print of 221,000 (revised from 220,000) and came in better than the market expectation of 220,000. It is the lowest reading since mid-October. 

Continuing Claims increased by 20,000 to 1.876 million in the week ended December 2.

Market reaction

The US Dollar rose following the Retail Sales report and the weekly Jobless Claims figures. The US Dollar Index (DXY) recovered ground from the lowest level since August. The DXY bottomed earlier at 102.27 and after the data reached levels above 102.50.  European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde will deliver a press conference at 13:45 GMT.

ECB Interest Rate Decision Live Coverage

(This story was corrected on December 14 at 13:49 GMT to say that there were 202,000 initial jobless claims in the week ending December 9. A previous version of the story said that there were 220,000 initial jobless claims.)