US: Initial Jobless Claims increased less than expected last week

• Initial Jobless Claims rose by 235K vs. the previous week.
• Continuing Jobless Claims rose by around 1.850M.

US citizens that applied for unemployment insurance benefits increased by 235K in the week ending July 20 according to the US Department of Labor (DoL) on Thursday. The prints came in below initial estimates (238K) and were lower than the previous weekly gain of 245K (revised from 243K).

Further details of the publication revealed that the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% and the 4-week moving average was 235.50K, an increase of 0.250K from the previous week's revised average.

In addition, Continuing Claims decreased by 9K to 1.851M in the week ended July 13.

Market reaction

The US Dollar Index (DXY) trades with marginal gains around 104.40 against the backdrop of the continuation of the downside pressure in US yields across the curve.