Article Hero

Unemployment claims hold near the best level since March 2020

1629988450.jpg
Miguel A. Rodriguez
Miguel A. Rodriguez
26 August 2021
Weekly jobless claims rise; US Q2 economy grew slightly faster than expected

The number of people who filed for unemployment insurance for the first-time last week came in at 353,000, higher than what the markets were looking for - 345,000 new filings.

Weekly claims held around the best levels since March 2020, though they are all well above the pre-pandemic levels and show signs of flattening.

At the same time, the second estimate for Q2 GDP came in at 6.6% short of the 6.7% expected, according to data from the Commerce Department. The increase was driven by Federal Reserve’s ultra-easy monetary policy stance, keeping interest rates at historically low levels and boosting stock market prices. Moreover, the market got a lift from vaccinations, which fueled demand for services such as air travel, hotel accommodation, dining out, and entertainment.

Despite concerns over sharply rising cases of Delta COVID-19 variant, these two reports paint a picture of a growing economy through the pandemic.

Markets barely reacted to the news, with stock futures indicating a primarily flat open on Wall Street.

 

Sources: cnbc.com, forexfactory.com

disclaimers_articles

article_share_title

article_rating_title

awful
ok
great
awesome

read_more

Miguel A. Rodriguez
Miguel A. Rodriguez
financial_writer

Miguel worked for major financial institutions such as Banco Santander, and Banco Central-Hispano. He is a published author of currency trading books.