Mubasher: The number of people who applied for jobless claims in the United states in the first week of May stood at 211,000 for the second week in a row, data showed on Thursday.

This level is the lowest in 49 years or since December 1969, the US Department of Labor said.

Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast claims would reach 215,000 in the week ended 5 May.

The four-week moving average for US jobless claims, a more accurate indicator of the market’s trends, registered a decline of 5,500 claims to 216,000, the report showed.

Meanwhile, the number of people already collecting unemployment benefits, or continuing claims, rose by 30,000 to 1.79 million.

By 12:30 pm GMT, the dollar index (DXY) dropped 0.34% to 92.725.