US weekly Initial Jobless Claims rise to 220K vs. 222K expected

• Initial Jobless Claims in the US increased by 1,000 in the week ending December 2.
• US Dollar Index stays under modest bearish pressure slightly below 104.00.

There were 220,000 initial jobless claims in the week ending December 2, the weekly data published by the US Department of Labor (DOL) showed on Thursday. This print followed the previous week’s print of 219,000 (revised from 218,000) and came in slightly better than the market expectation of 222,000.

Further details of the publication revealed that the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% and the 4-week moving average stood at 220,750, an increase of 500 from the previous week’s revised average.

“The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending November 25 was 1,861,000, a decrease of 64,000 from the previous week’s revised level.” the publication read.

Market reaction

The US Dollar Index stays in its daily range above slightly below 104.00 after this data.