US initial jobless claims fall

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week, according to data released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

US initial jobless claims were down 10,000 from the previous week's revised level to 210,000, beating expectations for a level of 219,000. The previous week's figure was revised up by 1,000.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average came in at 213,750, up 1,000 from the previous week's average, which was revised up by 250.

The four-week average is considered more reliable as it smooths out sharp fluctuations in the more volatile weekly figures, giving a more accurate picture of the health of the labour market.

Continuing claims - i.e. the number of people already collecting unemployment benefits - rose to 1.684m from a revised 1.655m, coming in above expectations for a reading of 1.653m. The previous week's level was revised up by 4,000.