US weekly Initial Jobless Claims decline to 210K vs. 215K expected

• Initial Jobless Claims in the US decreased by 2,000 in the week ending March 16.
• US Dollar Index clings to modest daily gains above 103.50.

There were 210,000 initial jobless claims in the week ending March 16, the weekly data published by the US Department of Labor (DOL) showed on Thursday. This print followed the previous week's print of 212,000 (revised from 209,000) and came in better than the market expectation of 215,000.

Further details of the publication revealed that the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% and the 4-week moving average stood at 211,250, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average.

"The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 9 was 1,807,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level," the publication read.

Market reaction

The US Dollar Index clings to modest daily gains above 103.50 in the early American session.