The number of Americans filing for new unemployment benefits increased to 236,000 in the week ending December 6, the US Department of Labor (DOL) reported on Thursday.
The USD/JPY pair tumbles to near 156.00 during the early Asian session on Thursday. The US Dollar (USD) weakens against the Japanese Yen (JPY) after the Federal Reserve (Fed) lowered interest rates in a widely expected move. The US weekly Initial Jobless Claims are due later on Thursday.
It's FOMC day and a 25bp rate cut – which would take the target rate to 3.50-3.75% – is around 90% priced in. The big focus will be the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), the number of dissenters against the 25bp cut, and then Chair Powell's press conference, ING's FX analyst Chris Turner notes.