Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 268,000 for the week ended June 25, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity rose to 53.2 from 51.3 the month before. The reading was above expectations of 51.4 from a Reuters poll.
St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said Thursday that available data does not suggest the U.S. economy will fall into recession, but he repeated his expectations for lower growth ahead.
At a speech in London, the central bank hawk reiterated comments he made earlier this month, saying the U.S. is in a new economic "regime." His long-term projection for the U.S. economy is uncertain, but not "pessimistic," he said.
"I do not think of the current regime as pessimistic. Output grows at the trend pace of 2 percent, but the unemployment rate remains quite low, and inflation remains at 2 percent. In addition ... growth could improve if productivity growth improves," Bullard said.
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said Friday that it was too soon to tell whether Britain's vote to leave the European Union had changed the U.S. economic outlook.
"We're going to have to wait and see," Fischer said during an interview on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." "It clearly is a huge event for the U.K., and it's an important event for Europe."
"Our direct trade with Britain is not going to make a huge difference to us, but ... there are a lot of things that will follow from Brexit for Europe, for the United Kingdom, and those are the things we'll have to be thinking about," he said.
The Bank of England could unleash fresh monetary stimulus this summer in an effort to support the economy after Brexit, Mark Carney has said, in remarks that have been taken as a sign that policymakers are preparing to slash interest rates and release additional waves of QE.
Crude prices extended gains on Monday in Asia, supported by comments from the Saudi energy minister saying the oil market is heading toward balance.
London Brent crude for September delivery LCOc1 was up 17 cents at $50.52 a barrel by 2247 GMT on Sunday, after settling up 64 cents at$50.35 on Friday.
NYMEX crude for August delivery CLc1 was up 5 cents at $49.04 a barrel, after closing up 66 cents, or 1.4 percent, on Friday. There will be no West Texas Intermediate crude settlement on Monday as U.S. financial and commodity markets are closed for the Independence Day holiday.
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