US: Focus on jobless claims and advance goods trade balance data - Nomura

For the November reading of the US advance goods trade balance, analysts at Nomura expect a goods trade deficit of $66.0bn (Consensus: $67.9bn), which would be a narrowing of the trade gap from October’s $68.1bn.

Key Quotes

“Goods imports have increased at a steady pace, likely reflecting healthy domestic demand. On the other hand, goods exports declined in October, driven by exports of food and beverages. In particular, soybean exports fell sharply by 45.7%, contributing to a wider-than-expected trade deficit in October. This large deviation was most likely due to a one-off event and could imply some payback for November’s goods exports data.”

“Initial jobless claims: Initial jobless claims rose 20k to 245k for the week ending 16 December, a slight uptick during the survey period for December’s nonfarm payroll employment report. Incoming data point to continued strength in the labor market. We continue to expect initial claims to trend lower.”