US initial jobless claims rose 23k to 885k in the week ending December 12, well above expectation of a fall to780k. Four-week moving average of initial claims rose 34.3k to 812.5k.
Continuing claims dropped -273k to 5508k in the week ending December 5. Four-week moving average of continuing claims dropped -215.5k to 5726k.
Also released, housing starts rose to 1.55m annualized rate in November. Building permits rose to 1.64m. Philly Fed manufacturing index dropped sharply to 11.1, down from 26.3, missed expectation of 20.0.
