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(Kitco News) The initial weekly jobless claims fell by 16,000 to 230,000 in the week to Saturday, surprising the markets with a bigger-than-expected decrease.
Economists’ consensus calls projected for the initial claims to edge up to 248,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 246,000.
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 – dropped by 4,000 to 236,000. The previous week’s four-week moving average was revised up by 250 to 240,000, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday.
Continuing jobless claims, representing the number of people already receiving benefits, were at 1,858,000 during the week ending April 15, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,861,000.
The four-week moving average was at 1,836,500, an increase of 10,250, marking the highest level since December 18, 2021. And the previous week’s four-week moving average was revised down by 1,000 to 1,826,250.
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 ticked down after the release of the latest jobless claims numbers, with June Comex gold futures last trading at $1,995.60, down 0.02% on the day.
The gold market was also reacting to the publication of the U.S. Q1 GDP data, which showed the economy growing at 1.1% - lower than market consensus calls of at least 2%.
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](/images/live/gold.gif?0.2924175530478188)
