Mubasher: US unemployment claims dropped 17,000 week-on-week to 216,000 claims in the week ended 5 January, according to data released on Thursday.

The more stable monthly average of claims went up 2,500 to 221,750 from the previous week's upwardly revised average of 219,250, the US Department of Labor said.

The preliminary seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate for the week ended 29 December stood at 1.2%, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate.

The initial seasonally adjusted figure for the insured jobless individuals in the US fell 28,000 to 1.722 million during the week ended 29 December, compared to the preceding week’s upwardly revised 1.750 million.

The initial unadjusted number of actual initial claims filed under state programmes totalled 348,709  in the week ended 5 January, rising by 21,208 claims or 6.5% from the claims filed in the prior week, while initial claims were 403,619 in the comparable week last year.

By 1:22 pm GMT, the index stabilised at 95.2230.