- John Herrmann, president of Herrmann Forecasting LLC
The number of Americans claiming for unemployment benefits declined slightly to 351 thousand in the week ended February 25 from the week before, said the Department of Labor on Thursday.
"[Jobless claims data] does add to the evidence that the economy's got more momentum than people expect and we don't think there will be more quantitative easing," said Kevin Cummins, economist at UBS securities, Stamford, Connecticut.
U.S. manufacturing expanded in February at a slower pace than forecast, the Institute for Supply Management said on Thursday. A manufacturing gauge based on a survey of purchasing managers slid to 52.4 from 54.1 in January.
"The economy is expanding, but the data is choppy and somewhat inconsistent," said John Herrmann, president of Herrmann Forecasting LLC in Summit, New Jersey. "The manufacturing sector is one of the key pillars of resilience and growth."
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