U.S. jobless claims rise, Treasury yields and dollar weaken

The U.S. Department of Labor data shows that the number of initial jobless claims increased slightly last week. The number of initial jobless claims in the week ending November 30 was recorded at 224,000, compared to 215,000 in the previous week. Economists surveyed by had previously expected the number of initial jobless claims in the latest week to be 215,000. The number of continuing jobless claims fell to 1.87 million, compared to 1.9 million in the previous week. The data shows that the number of initial jobless claims has risen but remains relatively stable. The November employment report will be released on Friday. Analysts expect that after the October employment data was affected by hurricanes and the Boeing strike, the November employment report will show a significant rebound in employment. After the U.S. initial jobless claims data showed the labor market may be softening, U.S. bond yields lost some momentum, and the U.S. dollar weakened, which strengthened the case for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. The number of initial jobless claims last week was 224,000, higher than the expected 215,000. The non-farm payroll employment for November, which is expected to be released tomorrow, is expected to jump from 124,000 in October to 214,000. The trade deficit narrowed to $73.8 billion in October, in line with expectations. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was reported at 4.208%, and the 2-year yield was reported at 4.161%, both higher than the previous day.