US secondary weekly jobless claims rise slightly

US unemployment claims moved slightly higher during the preceding week.

According to the US Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms, initial unemployment claims edged up by 4,000 over the week ending on 2 July to reach 235,000.

Economists had penciled-in a reading of 235,000.

The four-week moving average for initial claims meanwhile increased by 750 to 232,500.

Secondary unemployment claims, which are those not being filed for the first time and which referencing the week ended on 25 June, jumped by 51,000 to reach 1.375m.