Asia FX dithers as dollar steadies before Powell speech; yen muted after CPI data
Investing.com - The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, pointing to a further weakening of the country’s labor market amid tariff-fueled economic uncertainty.
Seasonally-adjusted U.S. jobless claims climbed to 235,000 in the week ended on August 16, up from 224,000 in the prior week. Economists had predicted a reading of 226,000.
The four-week moving average, which aims to account for volatility in the weekly data, came in at 226,250, slightly above the previous reading of 221,750.
This release has added to recent evidence of a cooling labor market as companies grapple with uncertainty around Trump’s tariff policies.
The July jobs report, released at the start of this month, showed far fewer jobs than expected were created in that month, a rise in the unemployment rate and a drop in the labor force participation rate to the lowest level since late 2022.
Additionally, it showed an historic downward revision for estimates of employment in the previous two months, erasing more than a quarter of a million jobs thought to have been created in May and June.
The minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting, held last month, showed that the vast majority of policymakers supported the decision not to lower rates at that meeting.
However, that meeting was held before the July jobs report, and thus investors are eagerly awaiting a speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the annual economic symposium near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday.
This is set to be his last such address as head of the central bank, with his term expiring next May, and he could show whether he has changed his mind in terms of lower interest rates.
The Fed has kept its policy rate in the current 4.25%-4.50% range since December, but is widely expected to cut interest rates when the policymakers next get together in September.