News Bites
U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims rise by 4K, in line with expectations
(Kitco News) - The initial weekly jobless claims rose to 215,000 in the week to Saturday, in line with expectations, the U.S. Labor Department said.
Market consensus called for initial claims to come in at 215,000 following a downwardly revised level of 211,000 reported in the previous week.
The four-week moving average for new claims – often viewed as a more reliable measure of the labor market since it flattens week-to-week volatility – declined to 214,500 from last week’s revised average of 215,000.
Continuing jobless claims, which represent the number of people already receiving benefits, were at 1,698,000 during the week ending August 17, up by 22,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,676,000, the report said. The four-week moving average was down by 250 at 1,697,250.
Traders monitor jobs data closely to gauge how aggressively the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee alters monetary policy.
Gold saw little reaction to the data with December gold futures last trading at $1,547.30 an ounce, down 0.12% on the day.
The yellow metal paused on Thursday, entering a consolidative mode, said Kitco’s technical analyst Jim Wyckoff.
“Risk appetite suddenly up-ticked overnight when news reports hit the wires that Chinese government officials (from the Commerce Ministry) have indicated they will not retaliate for the latest round of U.S. tariffs imposed on imports from China and said that the two countries remain in communication on the trade dispute matter,” Wyckoff said.
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