‘At present, it appears the labor market data rather than the inflation data are in the driving seat for data-dependent Fed policy.’ — John Ryding, RDQ Economics
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits dropped more than expected last week. The Labour Department reported on Thursday that initial jobless claims fell 8K to 237K in the week ended June 9, while market analysts anticipated a slighter decrease to 241K during the reported week. According to analysts, the US labour market is at or close to full employment, with the unemployment rate a 16-year low of 4.3%. Thursday’s data also showed that the number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose 6K to 1.94M in the week ending June 3. Other data released by the Federal Reserve showed that import prices dropped 0.3% last month, following the prior month’s downwardly revised rise of 0.2% and falling behind expectations for a 0.1% increase. Also, the New York State Fed reported that its Manufacturing Index for the region surged to 19.8 in June, up from May’s -1.0, whereas the Philadelphia Fed’s Manufacturing Index for the Philadelphia State fell to 27.6 points in June, whereas analysts anticipated a steeper drop to 25.5 from May’s 38.8.
