US jobless claims fall to 215,000

Americans lined up for state unemployment benefits at a decelerated clip in the week ended 18 May, according to the Labor Department.

Initial jobless claims fell by 8,000 to 215,000, below market expectations for a reading of 220,000 and considerably below elevated levels seen earlier in the month.

On the other hand, continuing jobless claims rose by 8,000 week-on-week to 1.79m in the second week of May, the highest level in over a month, and the four-week moving average for initial claims, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, rose by 1,750 to 219,750.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com