U.S. weekly jobless claims unchanged at 262,000

Get all the essential market news and expert opinions in one place with our daily newsletter. Receive a comprehensive recap of the day's top stories directly to your inbox. Sign up here!

(Kitco News) The initial weekly jobless claims were unchanged at 262,000 in the week to Saturday.

Economists’ consensus calls projected the initial claims to drop to 250,000. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 to 262,000.

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, increased by 9,250 to 246,750. This marked the highest level for this average since November 20, 2021. The previous week’s four-week moving average was revised up by 250 to 237,500, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday.

Continuing jobless claims, representing the number of people already receiving benefits, were at 1,775,000 during the week ending June 3, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,755,000. The four-week moving average was at 1,778,250, a decrease of 6,000. And the previous week’s four-week moving average was revised down by 500 to 1,784,250.

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 but was largely unchanged following the jobless claims data, with August Comex gold futures last trading at $1,942.40, down 1.35% on the day. Prior to the release, gold was already down as investors digested a hawkish pause by the Federal Reserve.