The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, offering further confirmation that the labor market remains on solid footing despite tepid job gains in May.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 254,000 for the week ended July 2, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The drop left claims close to a 43-year low of 248,000 touched in mid-April.
Employment in the private sector rose more than expected in June, led by gains in small-business jobs, according to a report Thursday from ADP and Moody's.
Private sector jobs grew by 172,000, while economists polled by Reuters forecast a gain of 159,000. The May number was revised down to 168,000 from 173,000.
"Since the start of 2016, average monthly job creation has slightly dropped," Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and head of the ADP Research Institute, said in a statement. "Lackluster global growth, low commodity prices and an unfavorable exchange rate continue to weigh on U.S. companies, especially larger companies."
The pound’s plunge isn’t over yet, according to three of the world’s top currency traders.
After falling to a 31-year low Wednesday, sterling may sink another 7 percent to 11 percent this year in the aftermath of the U.K.’s Brexit vote, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Deutsche Bank AG and Citigroup Inc. The currency will weaken to $1.20 on expectations the Bank of England will cut interest rates to contain the economic fallout from the referendum, according to Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. Deutsche Bank has an even more bearish forecast, seeing $1.15 by the end of 2016.
US oil closes at near 2-month low, down 4.8 pct, as stock draw disappoints
Oil prices fell nearly 5 percent on Thursday, reversing early gains after the U.S. government reported a weekly crude draw that disappointed market bulls expecting larger declines.
U.S. commercial crude stockpiles fell by 2.2 million barrels to a total of 524.4 million in the week through July 1, the Energy Information Administration reported.
The EIA's figure came in just below the decline of 2.3 million barrels forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll but far less than the 6.7 million-barrel draw reported by trade group the American Petroleum Institute late Wednesday.
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