On the last week, the number of Americans who first applied for unemployment benefits fell by 6000, from 253 000 to 247 000, according to the Ministry of Labor of the United States report. Thus, the index fell to the lowest since 1973.
Analysts polled by Bloomberg, expected an increase in the number of applications for by 8000, to 265 000.
Such a low rate of applications for benefits suggests that US companies are still optimistic about the outlook for demand in the country. The economists expect that the strong labor market will lead to higher consumer spending and will support the US economy after a weak first quarter.
"The indicator suggests that the labor market in the country is good, and this is a positive factor for consumer spending and real estate market, - says the analyst at Oxford Economics, Gregory Déco – It's nice to see that the companies continue to expand the state".
The average number of applications over the past 4 weeks, which is a less volatile measure, decreased to 260 500 from 265 000.
Meanwhile, the number of Americans continuing to receive unemployment benefits, for the week ending 9 April decreased by 39 000, to 2.137 million people, the lowest level since November 2000.
The figure for the previous week was revised up from 2.171 million to 2.176 million. The experts expected an increase by 2000 to the previously specified level, to 2.173 million.
Right after the publication of the report, which appeared simultaneously with the production index of the Philadelphian Fed, EUR/USD was traded at 1.1349, down from 1.1353 preceding the publication of data, pair GBP/USD was traded at 1.4428 against 1.4417, while the USD/JPY pair was traded at 109.66, up from 109.64.
The USD index, which shows the relationship of the US dollar against a basket of major currencies, rose to 94.14 from 94.12 the day before the release of data.
Futures of the US stock indices reacted positively to the release of data. At the opening, Dow rose 2 points, or 0.02%, S&P 500 rose 2 points, or 0.10%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures rose 5 points, or 0.11% at.