U.S. weekly jobless claims rise to 216,000, gold price falls to daily lows with focus on U.S. GDP

(Kitco News) The initial weekly jobless increased by 2,000 to 216,000 in the week to Saturday, surprising the markets with a slightly smaller increase than expected.

Economists’ consensus calls projected for initial claims to come in at 222,000 following the previous week’s revised level of 214,000.

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 – decreased to 221,750. The previous week’s four-week moving average was revised up to 228,000, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday.

Continuing jobless claims, which represent the number of people already receiving benefits, were at 1,672,000 during the week ending December 10, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 1,678,000.

The four-week moving average rose to 1,657,250, an increase of 30,250. And the previous week’s four-week moving average was revised up to 1,627,000.

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 down to fresh daily lows after the data was released. The gold market, however, was more focused on the final Q3 GDP reading released at the same time, showing the U.S. economy expanding by 3.2%, which was higher than the previous estimate of 2.9%. February Comex gold futures were last trading at $1,818.30, down 0.39% on the day.