US initial claims come in slightly higher than expected

Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated pace in the seven days ended 25 March, according to the Labor Department.

Initial jobless claims rose by 7,000 week-on-week to 198,000, slightly above expectations for a reading of 196,00 but remaining at a historically low level and still pointing to a stubbornly tight labour market.

The four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, rose by 2,000 to 198,250, while the advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ended 18 March came to 1.68m - an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised print.

On a seasonally unadjusted basis, initial claims rose by 10,906 to 223,913.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com