US initial jobless claims fall by 17,000

Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated pace in the week ended 3 August, according to the Labor Department.

Initial jobless claims fell by 17,000 to 230,000, below market expectations for a print of 240,000, easing from their post-Covid peak but remaining significantly above this year's average.

Continuing claims increased by 6,000 to 1.875m, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, increased by 2,500 to 240,750.

Notable decreases of 7,401 and 4,814 were recorded in Michigan and Texas, respectively.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com