U.S. First-Time Unemployment Benefit Claims Down Slightly

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged modestly lower in the week ended June 14th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday.

The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 245,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 250,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to slip to 245,000 from the 248,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 245,500, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 240,750.

With the uptick, the four-week moving average reached its highest level since hitting 246,000 in the week ended August 19, 2023.

The Commerce Department also released a report on Wednesday showing a steep drop by new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of May.

The report said housing starts plunged by 9.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.256 million in May after jumping by 2.7 percent to a revised rate of 1.392 million in April.

Economists had expected housing starts to edge down to an annual rate of 1.360 million from the 1.361 million originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said building permits slumped by 2.0 percent to an annual rate of 1.393 million in May after tumbling by 4.0 percent to a revised rate of 1.422 million in April.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to rise to an annual rate of 1.430 million from the 1.412 million originally reported for the previous month.

At 10:30 am ET, the Energy Information Administration is due to release its report on crude oil inventories in the week ended June 13th. Crude oil inventories are expected to decrease by 2.3 million barrels after falling by 3.6 million barrels in the previous week.

The Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the details of this month’s auctions of two-year, five-year and seven-year notes at 11 am ET.

At 2 pm ET, the Federal Reserve is due to announce its latest monetary policy decision, followed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s post-meeting press conference at 2:30 pm ET.