- First time claims were 803,000 after 892,000 in the prior week.
- Continuing Claims dropped to 5.337 M, the lowest of the pandemic.
- Congress passes COVID-19 relief bill after delaying for three months.
Unemployment claims continued their seesaw ride unexpectedly falling in the latest week by almost the same surprise amount that they rose the week before.
Initial filings for jobless benefits dropped to 803,000 in the week of December 18 from a revised 892,000, after having been forecast to come in at 885,000. The previous week claims had been predicted to be 800,000, instead they were 885,000. The four-week moving average was 818,250 following 814,250 the prior week, the first instances above 800,000 since October 16.
Initial Jobless Claims
Continuing Claims were 5.337 M in the December 11 week, well below the 5.558 M forecast and 5.507M the previous week. It was the lowest total since the pandemic accounts began on March 20.
Continuing Claims
In all about 20.4 M American are receiving some form of unemployment benefits, according to the Labor Department.
COVID-19 relief package
Earlier in the week Congress passed a much-delayed $900 billion stimulus and COVID-19 relief bill. The package was delayed for three months as each party tried to gain an advantage in the run to the November 3 vote. The legislation includes a $600 payment to most individuals, $300 -per-week in federal unemployment benefits and $320 B for business support.
President Trump has called the bill a “disgrace” because the payments to individuals and families was so low. Previous versions of the bill tabled but not passed in the weeks before the election has budgeted an $2500 one-time stipend.
It is not clear whether President Trump will veto the bill which passed both houses with large enough majorities to override a White House rejection.
It requires a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate to pass a bill over a president's veto.
In practice that would require many Republicans in the House and the Senate to vote with the Democrats. There are 435 members of the House, 290 are required for an override and the Democrats hold 233 seats. They would need 57 Republicans to join them in a rejection vote.
In the Senate 67 votes are required to override and the Democrats currently hold 47. They would need 20 Republican Senators to vote against the president.
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers. The author will not be held responsible for information that is found at the end of links posted on this page.
If not otherwise explicitly mentioned in the body of the article, at the time of writing, the author has no position in any stock mentioned in this article and no business relationship with any company mentioned. The author has not received compensation for writing this article, other than from FXStreet.
FXStreet and the author do not provide personalized recommendations. The author makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of this information. FXStreet and the author will not be liable for any errors, omissions or any losses, injuries or damages arising from this information and its display or use. Errors and omissions excepted.
The author and FXStreet are not registered investment advisors and nothing in this article is intended to be investment advice.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD drops below 1.0800 after German Retail Sales data
EUR/USD has come under fresh selling pressure and trades below 1.0800 after the data from Germany showed that Retail Sales declined by 1.9% MoM in February. Resurgent US Dollar demand is adding to the downside in the pair. US data are next in focus.
GBP/USD stays weak near 1.2600 amid market caution
GBP/USD remains defensive near 1.2600 in European trading on Thursday. The hawkish tone from Fed Governor Christopher Waller keeps the US Dollar afloat amid a cautious trading environment ahead of key US data releases and the Good Friday trading lull.
Gold price holds strength ahead of US core PCE inflation
Gold price holds onto gains near $2,200 in Thursday’s European session. The precious metal exhibits firm footing ahead of the United States core PCE Price Index data for February, which will be published on Friday.
XRP price falls to $0.60 support as Ripple ruling doesn’t help Coinbase lawsuit against SEC
XRP programmatic sales ruling by Judge Torres was completely rejected by another US Court that ruled in favor of the SEC in a lawsuit against Coinbase.
Portfolio rebalancing and reflation trades emerge into Q2
Yesterday’s price action pointed at a possible end-of-quarter portfolio rebalancing as the session saw the laggards of the quarter like Apple and Tesla gain, and the stars like Microsoft and Nvidia retreat.