Mubasher: US jobless claims fell 2,000 week-on-week to 212,000 claims in the week ended 11 August, for the first time in three weeks, remaining at the lowest level since the early 1970s, according to official data released on Thursday.

The more stable monthly average of claims saw a marginal decline of 1,000 claims to 215,500 for the week ended 11 August from the previous week's upwardly revised average of 214,500.

The initial seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate for the week ended 4 August remained stable at 1.2%, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate.

As for the insured jobless individuals in the US, the initial seasonally adjusted figure dropped 39,000 to 1.75 million during the week ended 4 August, compared to the prior week’s figure, which was revised up by 5,000 to 1.760 million.

The initial unadjusted figure of actual initial claims filed under state programmes reached 179,870 in the week ended 11 August, declining by 5,294 claims or 2.9% from the claims filed in the preceding week, while initial claims totalled 198,280 in the comparable week last year.

By 12:52 pm GMT, the US dollar index went down 0.12% to 96.5800.