In the week ending March 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 211,000, an increase of 21,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 190,000. The 4-week moving average was 197,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 193,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent for the week ending February 25, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 25 was 1,718,000, an increase of 69,000 from the ... (full story)

US weekly initial jobless claims data • Prior was 190K (unrevised) • Four-week moving average 197K vs 193K prior • Continuing claims 1718K vs 1659K expected • Prior continuing claims 1655K • Unadjusted claims 237K This is the highest since the week of December 24 and if you take out the holiday period, it's the highest since December 3. There has been an uptick in risk assets and downtick in the US dollar on the data. It's a reminder of just how sensitive the market is to ecodata at the moment. Of course, that will be constrained ahead of tomorrow's non-farm payrolls report. Here's an interesting chart: ... (full story)