US weekly jobless claims rise by a bit more than expected

Jobless claims in the States rose by slightly more than expected during the prior week.

According to the US Department of Labor, initial unemployment claims increased by 9,000 over the week ending on 24 December to reach 225,000.

Economists had been anticipating a rise to 223,000.

The four-week moving average for initial claims, which aims to smooth out the variations from one week to the next, dipped by only 250 to 221,000.

Secondary unemployment claims, which are those not being filed for the first time and referencing the week finished on 17 December, increased by 41,000 to 1.71m.