(As of 7:19 am PST)
Markets are lower this morning despite positive data on the
jobs front. The Labor Department reported
that jobless claims fell slightly to 323,000 in the week ending May 4. Economists expected claims to rise to
335,000. The drop brought claims to the
lowest level since January 2008 and helped ease concern over the pace of
layoffs due to the sequester and other government cuts. If the trend continues we likely could see a
strong jobs number for May. In
international news, most Asian markets were lower on the day. Chinese government data showed China’s
consumer price index rose 2.4% in April from the year-ago period causing
concern over inflation which would likely mean the halting of additional easing
measures. Wholesale prices fell sharply
however and most analysts believe inflation pressure is quite low, at least in
the short term as the increase remained
below the government’s 2013 target of 3%.
Australia surprised with a stronger than expected jobs report which sent
the Australian dollar surging on speculation of the next central bank interest
rate decision. European markets fell
back on the Chinese inflation data but are slowly recovering as the day
progresses. Gold and oil are both down over 0.5% while
interest rates are nearly unchanged. We’ve
traded in a tight range most the week as economic reports have been light.
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