US initial jobless claims 241K vs 260K estimate

• Prior week 258K revised to 260K
• Initial jobless claims 241K vs 260K est
• 4-week moving average initial jobless claims 236.25K vs 231.5K prior
• Continuing Claims 1.867M vs 1.865M estimate.
• Prior week of continuing claims revised to 1.858M versus 1.861M previously reported
• 4 week moving average of continuing claims 1.843M vs 1.831M prior week (revised)

Looking at the largest increases and decreases. There was a jump in North Carolina and Florida that was likely hurricane related. Overall with the decline in initial jobless claims for the week, it continues to paint a solid picture in the employment market

• The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending October 5 were in Michigan (+9,389), North Carolina
  (+8,714), Ohio (+4,648), California (+4,068), and Florida (+4,021),
• The largest decreases were in Wyoming (-24),
  Idaho (-21), Louisiana (-13), Massachusetts (-12), and Alaska (-10).

Combined with the retail sales and Philly Fed, the US economy continues to take a long and will likely lead to a increase in GDP growth for the current quarter.

A snapshot of the stock market shows a NASDAQ still up around 180 points. The Dow futures are implying a gain of 75 points and the S&P futures are implying a gain of 27.53 points.

The US debt market, yields are higher:

• 2-year yield 3.997%, +6.2 basis points
• 5-year yield 3.904%, +6.2 basis points
• 10 year yield 4.07%, +5.3 basis points
• 30 year yield 4.345%, +4.6 basis points

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.