US jobless data better but trade deficit widens
THE NUMBER of Americans submitting new applications for jobless benefits edged down last week, official data showed yesterday, boosting hopes that the labour market remains on an upward trajectory.
However Commerce Department data showed a widening in the trade deficit in March, suggesting economic growth was much slower in the first quarter than initially believed.
New claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 367,000, the Labor Department revealed yesterday. The prior week’s figure was revised up to 368,000 from the previously reported 365,000.
“It looks like the claims numbers are reverting to the declining trend that got interrupted briefly,” said Commonwealth Foreign Exchange analyst Omer Esiner
Separately, the trade gap grew 14.1 per cent to $51.8bn (£32.1bn), the biggest jump in nearly a year.
The weak trade balance number could cause the government to lower its first-quarter growth estimate to below an annual pace of two per cent from 2.2 per cent, according to economists.