US: Weekly Initial Jobless Claims decline to 230K vs. 248K expected

• Initial Jobless Claims in the US decreased by 16,000 in the week ending April 22.
• Continuing Jobless Claims declined by 3,000 in the week ending April 15.
• US Dollar Index rises modestly after economic reports.

Initial Jobless claims totaled 230,000 in the week ending April 22, the weekly data published by the US Department of Labor (DOL) showed on Thursday. The print follows the previous week’s 246,000 (revised from 245,000) and came in below market expectations of 248,000.

“The 4-week moving average was 236,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised average.”

Continuing Claims decreased by 3,000 in the week ended April 15 to 1.858 million, below the 1.878 million of market consensus.

“The 4-week moving average was 1,836,500, an increase of 10,250 from the previous week's revised average. This is the highest level for this average since December 18, 2021 when it was 1,838,000.”

Market reaction

At the same time, the US reported Q1 GDP that triggered a decline of the US Dollar. The DXY rose modestly after the numbers, erasing daily losses, toward 101.50.