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U.S. weekly jobless claims rise by 2,000 to 232,000, gold price ticks up
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(Kitco News) The initial weekly jobless claims rose by 2,000 to 232,000 in the week to Saturday, surprising the markets with a smaller-than-expected increase.
Economists’ consensus calls projected the initial claims to come in at 235,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 230,000.
The four-week moving average for new claims, viewed as a more reliable measure of the labor market as it flattens week-to-week volatility, dropped by 2,500 to 229,500. The previous week’s four-week moving average was revised up by 250 to 232,000, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday.
Continuing jobless claims, representing the number of people already receiving benefits, were at 1,795,000 during the week ending May 20, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,789,000.
The four-week moving average was at 1,797,500, a decrease of 1,500. And the previous week’s four-week moving average was revised down by 1,250 to 1,799,000.
Traders watch the jobless claims data very closely to gauge its impact on the Federal Reserve’s employment side of the monetary policy mandate.
Gold edged up after the release of the latest jobless claims numbers, with August Comex gold futures last trading at $1,980.80 an ounce, down 0.07% on the day. Earlier in the session, August futures hit a daily low of $1,970.10.
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](/images/live/gold.gif?0.2924175530478188)
