US weekly unemployment claims edge gigher

Unemployment claims in the US edged higher during the latest reference week.

Weekly filings for unemployment benefits rose by 3,000 during the week ending on 30 July to reach 269,000, according to the US Department of Labor.

Economists had been expecting a reading of 265,000.

The four-week moving average, which is meant to smoothe out the volatility in the data from one week to another, increased by 3,750 to hit 256,500.

Secondary unemployment claims, those which are not filed for the first time and referencing the week ended on 23 July, slipped by 6,000 to 2.138m.

The DoL said no special factors had impacted the past week´s initial claims figures.