- Brian Jones, a senior U.S. economist at Societe Generale
US unemployment claims unexpectedly surged to the highest level in four months last week a slight setback for the labour market that has marked 2014 as the best year of job gains in more than a decade. The number of initial jobless claims jumped 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 316,000 in the week ended January 10, the Labor Department reported. Economists had called for 290,000. The four-week moving average for initial claims, considered to be a better gauge of trends in the labour market as it strips out weekly volatility, climbed 6,750 to 298,000. It has, however, remained below 300,000, which is associated with a strengthening labour market, for 18 weeks. Almost 3 million new jobs were added last year, the strongest annual gain since 1999.
Another report showed that price pressures in the world's biggest economy remained weak. The wholesale price index dropped 0.3% in December, the biggest decline in three years, after falling 0.2% in the preceding month, according to Labor Department data. Year-over-year, the producer price index climbed at an annualized rate of 1.1% in December, above expectations for a 1.0% rise and following a gain of 1.4% in the previous month. However, core producer prices increased at an annualized rate of 2.1% in December, compared to forecasts for a 1.9% increase and up from 1.8% in the preceding month.
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