Mubasher: The number of unemployed individuals in the US who applied for benefits last week hit a one-month peak, while the level of layoffs remained low, according to data released on Thursday.

US unemployment claims rose 6,000 week-on-week to 229,000 claims in the week ended 9 March.

The more stable 4-week average of claims fell 2,500 to 223,750 from the prior week's unrevised average of 229,250, the US Department of Labor said.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate for the week ended 2 March stood stable at 1.2% from the previous week’s unrevised rate.

The initial seasonally adjusted figure for the insured jobless individuals in the US rose 18,000 to 1.776 million during the week ended 2 March, compared to the preceding week’s upwardly revised 1.758 million.

The preliminary unadjusted number of actual initial claims filed under state programmes totalled 208,782 in the week ended 9 March, falling by 11,801 claims or 5.3% from the claims filed in the prior week, while initial claims were 204,862 in the same week last year.

By 1:47 pm GMT, the US dollar index rose 0.22% to 96.7580.