With the more closely watched monthly jobs report looming, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by more than expected in the week ended March 1st.
The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 221,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 242,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 235,000.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 224,250, an increase of 250 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 224,000.
Reflecting a spike by the value of imports, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing the U.S. trade deficit widened by more than expected in the month of January.
The Commerce Department said the trade deficit surged to $131.4 billion in January from a revised $98.1 billion in December.
Economists had expected the trade deficit to jump to $123.0 billion from the $98.4 billion originally reported for the previous month.
The notably wider trade deficit came as the value of imports soared by 10.0 percent to $401.2 billion, while the value of imports increased by 1.2 percent to $2.698 billion.
At 10 am ET, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on wholesale inventories in the month of January. Wholesale inventories are expected to increase by 0.7 percent.
The Treasury Department is due to announce the details of this month’s auction of thee-year and ten-year notes and thirty-year bonds at 11 am ET.
At 3:30 pm ET, Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook at the Wall Street Journal CFO Network Summit.
Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic is due to participate in a conversation on the economic outlook with some focus on the Birmingham region at 7 pm ET.