Weekly US jobless claims continue to slip unexpectedly

US corporates continued to husband staff, contrary to expectations.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms the number of initial unemployment claims fell by 13,000 over the week ending on 14 October to hit 198,000.

Economists at Bank of America had penciled in a reading of 214,000.

The four-week moving average meanwhile dipped by 1,000 to 205,750.

Secondary claims, which are those not being filed for the first time and referencing the week that ended on 7 October, rose by 29,000 to 1.734m.

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