U.S. weekly jobless claims fall back to near pandemic low

Washington (Aug 12)  The U.S. labor market continues to see improvements as the number of American workers applying for first-time unemployment benefits fell in line with expectations.

Weekly U.S. jobless claims numbers fell back down to near their pandemic lows in July. Thursday the U.S. Labor Department said that weekly jobless claims fell by 12,000 to 375,000, down from the previous week's revised estimate of 387,000 claims.
The latest labor market data was in line with consensus forecasts.

The four-week moving average for new claims – often viewed as a more reliable measure of the labor market since it flattens week-to-week volatility – rose to 396,250 up by 1,750 claims from the previous week.

However, the latest employment data is not having much impact on the gold market as prices remain under pressure. December gold futures last traded at $1,747.80 an ounce, down 0.31% on the day.

Continuing jobless claims, which represent the number of people already receiving benefits, were at 2.866 million during the week ending July 31, down by 114,000 from the previous week’s revised level.

“This is the lowest level for insured unemployment since March 14, 2020 when it was 1,770,000,” the report said.

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