"The outlook right now for quarter two is a little bit iffy in terms of overall economic growth, but we're still optimistic about the second half of the year"
- Bill Jordan, a senior economist at Wrightson ICAP
The number of Americans seeking unemployment was little changed last week, easing fears of a marked deterioration in the labour market conditions after a surprise stumble in job growth last month. The report by the Labour Department showed that the number of the initial jobless applications increased by 4,000 to 352,000 in the week ended April 13th, slightly outpacing expectations of a 1,000 increase. The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, rose to 361,250 last week from 358,500.
Also Thursday, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's said that a gauge of manufacturing activity fell to 1.3 in April from 2 the prior month, falling closer to zero reading which separates expansion from the contraction. At the same time, the U.S. leading economic index, which measures the outlook for the next three to six months, dropped 0.1% in March after climbing 0.5% in the prior two months. Latest data are raising concerns that the world's largest economy is cooling despite all measures done by the Fed.
"The outlook right now for quarter two is a little bit iffy in terms of overall economic growth, but we're still optimistic about the second half of the year," Bill Jordan, a senior economist at Wrightson ICAP in Jersey City, New Jersey, said before the report.
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