US: Weekly Initial Jobless Claims decline to 190K vs. 195K expected

• Initial Jobless Claims in the US decreased by 2,000 in the week ending February 25.
• US Dollar Index clings to strong daily gains near 105.00.

There were 190,000 initial jobless claims in the week ending February 25, the weekly data published by the US Department of Labor (DOL) showed on Thursday. This print followed the previous week's print of 192,000 and came in slightly better than the market expectation of 195,000.

Further details of the publication revealed that the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.1% and the 4-week moving average was 193,000, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week's unrevised average.

"The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 18 was 1,655,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level," the DOL noted.

Market reaction

The US Dollar continues to outperform its major rivals after this report and the US Dollar Index was last seen rising 0.65% on the day at 105.05.