US initial jobless claims dropped -5k to 211k in the week ending March 23, below expectation of 220k. Four-week moving average of initial claims dropped 3.25k to 217.25k.
Continuing claims rose 13k to 1.756M in the week ending March 16. Four-week moving average dropped -4.25k to 1.751M.
Q4 GDP growth was finalized at 2.2% annualized, revised down from 2.6% and missed expectation of 2.4%. That’s sharply slower from Q3’s 3.4%. Real GDP grew only 2.9% in 2018, up from 2.2% in 2017 but was below 3.0% handle.
