U.S. weekly jobless claims drop to 222,000, gold price ticks down

(Kitco News) The initial weekly jobless decreased by 4,000 to 222,000 in the week to Saturday, surprising the markets with a slightly stronger employment situation in the U.S. than expected.

Economists’ consensus calls projected for initial claims to come in at 225,000, following the previous week’s revised level of 226,000.

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 – increased to 221,000. The previous week’s four-week moving average was revised up to 219,000, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday.

Continuing jobless claims, which represent the number of people already receiving benefits, were at 1,507,000 during the week ending November 5, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,494,000.

The four-week moving average rose to 1,481,500, an increase of 31,000. And the previous week’s four-week moving average was revised up to 1,450,500.

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 hit fresh daily lows following the data release. Traders were also digesting better-than-projected housing data out of the U.S. that was released at the same time. December Comex gold futures were last at $1,761.20, down 0.82% on the day.