In the week ending May 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 278,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 294,000. The 4-week moving average was 275,750, an increase of 7,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 268,250.
There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims. This marks 63 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1973.
Despite ongoing inventory shortages and faster price growth, existing-home sales sustained their recent momentum and moved higher for the second consecutive month, according to the National Association of Realtors®. A surge in sales in the Midwest and a decent increase in the Northeast offset smaller declines in the South and West.
Total existing-home sales1, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million in April from an upwardly revised 5.36 million in March. After last month's gain, sales are now up 6.0 percent from April 2015.
The U.S. economy could be strong enough to warrant an interest rate increase in June or July, New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said on Thursday, cementing Wall Street's view that the Fed will tighten policy soon.
"We are on track to satisfy a lot of the conditions" for a rate increase, Dudley said. He added, though, that a key factor arguing for the Fed biding its time a little was the potential for market turmoil around Britain’s vote in late June about whether to leave the European Union.
The probability for a June rate hike rose from around 4 percent at the start of the week to 30 percent on Friday, according to CME Group's FedWatch site. Futures markets are predicting two rate increases this year as opposed to just one as recently as last week.
Britain could sink into a year-long recession if it votes to leave the European Union, finance minister George Osborne said in his latest attempt to focus voters on the potential hit to the economy from an "Out" vote.
"The British people must ask themselves this question: can we knowingly vote for a recession?" Osborne said in excerpts of a speech he is due to make on Monday which were released by the finance ministry. "Does Britain really want this DIY recession?"
The West Texas Intermediate for June delivery moved down 41 cents to settle at 47.75 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for July delivery decreased 9 cents to close at 48.72 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Iran has no plans to freeze the level of its oil production and exports, Deputy Oil Minister Rokneddin Javadi was quoted on Sunday as saying, as the country tries to raise its crude exports to pre-sanctions levels.
Reference: Reuters, Xinhua
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