U.S. weekly jobless claims rise by 11k to 239,000, gold price jumps to daily highs

NEW YORK (April 13) The initial weekly jobless claims rose by 11,000 to 239,000 in the week to Saturday, surprising the markets with a bigger-than-expected increase.

Economists’ consensus calls projected the initial claims to advance to 232,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 228,000.

"This is the highest level for initial claims since January 15, 2022 when it was 251,000," the report said.

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 – climbed by 2,250 to 240,000. The previous week's four-week moving average was unrevised at 237,750, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday.

Continuing jobless claims, representing the number of people already receiving benefits, were at 1,810,000 during the week ending April 1, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 1,823,000.
The four-week moving average was at 1,813,500, an increase of 9,500.

And the previous week’s four-week moving average was unrevised at 1,804,000. "This is the highest level for this average since November 13, 2021 when it was 2,007,000," the report said.

Traders watch the jobless claims data very closely to gauge its impact on the Federal Reserve’s employment side of the monetary policy mandate.

Gold jumped to daily highs after the latest jobless claims numbers were released, with June Comex gold futures last trading at $2,045.10, up 1% on the day.

The gold market was also reacting to the publication of the Producer Price Index, which showed some relief on the inflation side of things. 

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