Initial Claims increased to 471,000, for the week ending 05/15, as against the expected decrease to 440,000, after decreasing to 446,000, the revised figure for the previous week. This was the first increase in five weeks and the largest since a gain of 40,000 in February. The 4-week moving average increased to 453,500, from the previous week’s unrevised average of 450,500. Seasonally adjusted insured unemployment from the prior week, ending on 05/08, was 4,625,000, a decrease of 40,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,665,000. Seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate from the week ending on 05/08, was 3.6%, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised figure of 3.6%.
The Conference Boards’ Leading Indicators Index numbers are expected today at 10:00 AM EST. The index had increased by 1.4% in March to 109.6 (2004=100). The Coincident Index had increased by 0.1% to 100.2 (2004=100) and the Lagging Index had increased by 0.2% to 107.9 (2004=100).
Upcoming Releases
Leading Indicators (05/20 at 10:00 AM EST)
Existing Home Sales (05/24 at 10:00 AM EST)
Consumer Confidence (05/25 at 10:00 AM EST)
Existing Home Sales (05/24 at 10:00 AM EST)
Consumer Confidence (05/25 at 10:00 AM EST)
Durable Orders (05/26 at 8:30 AM EST)
