U.S. First-Time Unemployment Benefit Claims Unchanged

The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in unchanged in the week ended May 10th

The report said initial jobless claims came in at 229,000 last week, unchanged from the previous week’s revised level.

Economists had expected jobless claims to tick up to 229,000 from the 228,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average rose to 230,500, an increase of 3,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 227,250.

Producer prices in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased in the month of April, according to a separate report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand fell by 0.5 percent in April following a revised unchanged reading in March.

Economists had expected producer prices to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.4 percent decline originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth slowed to 2.4 percent in April from a revised 3.4 percent in March.

A report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed a slight increase by U.S. retail sales in the month of April.

The Commerce Department said retail sales crept up by 0.1 percent in April after surging by an upwardly revised 1.7 percent in March.

Economists had expected retail sales to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 1.4 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales still edged up by 0.1 percent in April after climbing by 0.8 percent in March. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its report on industrial production in the month of April at 9:15 am ET. Industrial production is expected to rise by 0.2 percent in April after falling by 0.3 percent in March.

At 10 am ET, the National Association of Home Builders is due to release its report on homebuilder confidence in the month of May. The housing market index is expected to come in unchanged in May after inching up to 40 in April.

The Commerce Department is also scheduled to release its report on business inventories in the month of March at 10 am ET. Business inventories are expected to increase by 0.2 percent in March, matching the uptick seen in February.

At 11 am ET, the Treasury Department is due to announce the details of this month’s auction of twenty-year bonds.

Federal Reserve Board Governor Michael Barr is scheduled to deliver opening remarks at the 2025 Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Small Business Credit Symposium hosted by the Federal Reserve Banks of New York, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Boston, and Richmond at 2:05 pm ET.