Weekly US jobless claims dip

US jobless claims continued slipping lower over the previous week, hitting a nine-week low, albeit while remaining at exceedingly elevated levels.

The Department of Labor reported a 33,000 drop for initial unemployment claims during the week ending on 30 January to reach 779,000.

Economists had penciled-in a print of 825,000.

However, the four-week moving average of claims, which serves to smooth out the volatility in the weekly figures, was little changed, down by 1,250 at 848,250.

Secondary unemployment claims meanwhile, which keep track of the number of people who are not filing for the first time, fell back by 193,000 to 4.592m.