U.S. weekly jobless claims drop to 213,000, gold price battles $1,700 level

(Kitco News) The initial weekly jobless claims dropped by 5,000 to 213,000 in the week to Saturday, beating market expectations.

Economists’ consensus calls projected for initial claims to come in at 226,000 following the revised level of 218,000 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 – decreased to 224,000. Last week’s four-week moving average was revised down to 232,000, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday.

Continuing jobless claims, which represent the number of people already receiving benefits, were at 1,403,000 during the week ending September 3, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,401,000.

The four-week moving average fell to 1,413,250, a decrease of 7,500. And the previous week’s four-week moving average was revised down by 18,000 to 1,421,000.

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 attempted to recover back above $1,700 an ounce following multiple data releases Thursday morning, including retail sales. But the precious metal faltered under pressure. December Comex gold futures were last trading at $1,695.30, down 0.81% on the day.