US weekly Initial Jobless Claims decline 207K vs. 214K expected

• Initial Jobless Claims in the US decreased by 5,000 in the week ending April 20.
• US Dollar Index clings to modest daily gains above 105.50.

There were 207,000 initial jobless claims in the week ending April 20, 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 and came in better than the market expectation of 214,000.

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 213,250, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's unrevised average.

"The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 13 was 1,781,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week's revised level," the publication read.

Market reaction

The US Dollar Index clings to modest daily gains slightly below 106.00 after these data.