First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower in the week ended November 9th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 217,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 221,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 223,000.
The unexpected decline pulled jobless claims down to their lowest level since hitting 216,000 in the week ended May 18th.
The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also dipped to 221,000, a decrease of 6,250 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 227,250.
After yesterday’s consumer price inflation data matched expectations, the Labor Department released a separate report on Thursday showing producer prices in the U.S. also increased in line with economist estimates in the month of October.
The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand rose by 0.2 percent in October following a revised 0.1 percent uptick in September.
Economists had expected producer prices to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the report said the annual rate of growth by producer prices accelerated to 2.4 percent in October from an upwardly revised 1.9 percent in September.
The annual rate of producer price growth was expected to accelerate to 2.3 percent from the 1.8 percent originally reported for the previous month.
At 9 am ET, Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin is scheduled to speak on the economy in a fireside chat before the Real Estate Roundtable.
The Energy Information Administration is due to release its report on oil inventories in the week ended November 8th at 11 am ET. Crude oil inventories are expected to rise by 1.0 million barrels after climbing by 2.1 million barrels in the previous week.
Also at 11 am ET, the Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the details of this month’s auction of twenty-year bonds.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to speak on the economic outlook before an event hosted by the Dallas Regional Chamber, World Affairs Council of DFW and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas at 3 pm ET. At 4:45 pm ET, New York Federal Reserve President John Williams is scheduled to speak before an “Intermediating Impact: Making Missing Markets” event.