Mubasher: The number of unemployed individuals in the US who applied for benefits last week declined, according to data released on Thursday.

US unemployment claims fell 9,000 week-on-week to 221,000 claims in the week ended 16 March. The prior week’s level was upwardly revised to 230,000.

The more stable 4-week average of claims rose 1,000 to 225,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised average of 224,000, the US Department of Labor said.

The initial seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate for the week ended 9 March stood stable at 1.2% from the preceding week’s unrevised rate.

The preliminary seasonally adjusted figure for the insured jobless individuals in the US dropped 27,000 to 1.750 million during the week ended 9 March, compared to the preceding week’s upwardly revised 1.777 million.

The advance unadjusted number of actual initial claims filed under state programmes reached a total of 194,098 in the week ended 16 March, falling by 15,264 claims or 7.3% from the claims filed in the previous week, while initial claims were 198,591 in the comparable week last year.

By 12:31 pm GMT, the US dollar index rose 0.44% to 96.1820.