US: Weekly Initial Jobless Claims decrease to 242K vs 254K expected

• Initial Jobless Claims in the US decline by 22,000 in the week ending May 13.
• Continuing Jobless Claims decrease by 8,000 in the week ending May 6.
• US Dollar Index resumes rally after Jobless Claims and Philly Fed.

Initial Jobless claims totaled 242,000 in the week ending May 13, the weekly data published by the US Department of Labor (DOL) showed on Thursday. The print follows the previous week's 264,000 and came in below market expectations of 254,000. "The 4-week moving average was 244,250, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 245,250."

Continuing Claims decreased by 8,000 in the week ended May 6 to 1.799 million, below the 1.818 million of market consensus. It is the lowest reading in nine weeks. "The 4-week moving average was 1,812,500, a decrease of 15,500 from the previous week's revised average."

Market reaction

The US Dollar (USD) rose following the release of Jobless Claims and the Philly Fed. The US Dollar Index jumped to the highest level since late March above 103.20. Later on Thursday, the April Existing Home Sales report is due.