By CountingPips.com
The U.S. dollar has been mixed in the forex markets on a day with little U.S. economic data released while the American stock markets have also shown mixed results so far today. The dollar has advanced versus the euro and the British pound sterling while declining against the Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar, Japanese yen and the Swiss franc,
The U.S. stock markets, meanwhile, are having a mixed session today with the Dow gaining declining by around 20 points, the Nasdaq increasing by over 5 points and the S&P 500 is up by just under 3 points at time of writing.
Oil has traded virtually unchanged at $88.37 per barrel while gold futures have increased by $3.10 to trade at the $1,385.60 per ounce level.
Weekly Jobless Claims fall more than expected
U.S. weekly jobless claims decreased by more than expected in the week that ended on December 4th, according to a release by the U.S. Labor Department today. New jobless claims fell by 17,000 workers to a total of 421,000 unemployed workers. The 4-week moving average of unemployed workers decreased by 4,000 workers from the previous week to a total of 431,500 and fell for a fifth straight week.
Market forecasts were expecting weekly jobless claims to edge down to 425,000 workers following the prior week’s revised 438,000 claims.
Workers seeking continuing claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending November 27th also decreased for the week. Continuing claims fell by 191,000 workers to a total of 4,086,000 unemployed workers. The four week moving average of continuing claims dropped by 64,250 workers to a total of 4,226,000.