13:30 Dados States
Enviado: 14/6/2007 12:378:30 AM ET, Jun 14, 2007 - 11 minutes ago
U.S. weekly continuing jobless claims fall 43,000 to 2.49mln
U.S. weekly initial jobless claims unchanged at 311,000
ECONOMIC REPORT: Initial jobless claims unchanged at 311,000
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch Last Update: 8:31 AM ET Jun 14, 2007
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - First-time filings for state unemployment benefits were unchanged in the week ending June 9 at 311,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The four-week moving average of new claims - which smoothes out distortions caused by one-time events such as weather or holidays - rose by 3,750 to 311,250, a five-week high.
Labor markets remain healthy, the data show.
Meanwhile, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits fell by 43,000 to 2.487 million in the week ending June 2. The four-week average of continuing claims rose by 4,000 to 2.501 million.
The insured unemployment rate - the percentage of those eligible for benefits who are claiming - remained at 1.9%.
Economists say initial claims in the range of about 300,000 to 325,000 are consistent with healthy job growth of about 100,000 to 150,000 per month. Consistent levels over 350,000 would signal some weakening in the labor market, while a sustained drop below 300,000 could show further tightening in an already tight labor market.
Initial claims represent job destruction, while the level of continuing claims indicates how hard or easy it is for displaced workers to find new jobs.
Compared with the same time last year, initial claims are down about 1% while continuing claims are up about 3%.
In the week ending June 2, six states reported initial claims fell by more than 1,000, with fewer layoffs in construction, trade and manufacturing mentioned most frequently.
In a separate report, the Labor Department said the producer price index rose 0.9%, while the core PPI was up 0.2%. Wholesale food prices fell for the first time in seven months.
U.S. core PPI up 1.6% in past 12 months
U.S. PPI up 4.1% in past 12 months, most in a year
U.S. core intermediate PPI up 2.9% yoy, 3-year low
U.S. May PPI energy prices up 4.1%
U.S. May PPI food prices fall 0.2%, 1st drop in 7 months
U.S. May core PPI up 0.2% vs. 0.1% expected
U.S. May PPI up 0.9% vs. 0.6% expected
ECONOMIC REPORT: Producer prices rise 0.9% on energy; Wholesale food prices fall for first time in seven months
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatchLast Update: 8:32 AM ET Jun 14, 2007
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Led by another big gain in energy prices, wholesale prices rose a greater-than-expected 0.9% in May, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Wholesale food prices fell 0.2%, the first decline in seven months.
Energy prices jumped 4.1%, the biggest increase in six months. Wholesale gasoline prices rose 10.2%.
The core producer price index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2%, the first increase in three months.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were looking for smaller increases of 0.6% on the headline PPI and a 0.1% increase for the core PPI.
Headline inflation has risen 4.1% in the past 12 months, the largest increase in a year. But core inflation at the wholesale level is up a moderate 1.6% in the past 12 months.
One bright spot in the report was the continued deceleration in price increases for core intermediate goods, a closely watched indicator of inflationary pressures in the production pipeline. In the past year, the core intermediate PPI is up just 2.9%, the lowest in more than three years.
The report keeps the pressure on the Federal Reserve to remain vigilant on inflation. The PPI is not the Fed's focus; the real issue is what consumer prices do. The PPI measures prices in the production pipeline, not at the retail level.
The government will report on the consumer price index on Friday. The CPI is expected to rise 0.7% for overall inflation, and 0.2% for core inflation excluding food and energy prices. It would be the second largest increase in the CPI in the past 16 years. The Fed monitors a different but related inflation measure produced by the Commerce Department, known as the personal consumption expenditure price index, which will be released at the end of the month.
The Fed has left interest rates unchanged for nearly a year now and has signaled that interest rates could be steady at 5.25% for quite a while. The Federal Open Market Committee has said that inflation - not slow growth - is its main concern.
Details
The PPI has swung wildly in the past nine months, driven largely by movements in energy prices. The PPI rose 0.7% in April, 1% in March and 1.3% in February after falling 0.6% in January.
At the finished level, prices of capital equipment increased 0.1%. Heavy truck prices, which jumped 3.8% in April, were flat in May. Light truck prices fell 0.1%.
Car prices fell 0.2%. Computer prices fell 2%.
The 0.2% drop in food prices was led by a 35% plunge in vegetable prices, the biggest drop in five years. Dairy prices rose 4.5%, the most in three years.
Inflationary pressures were mixed further back in the production process in May. Prices for intermediate goods rose 1.1%, with the core intermediate PPI rising 0.4%.
Prices of crude goods rose 2%, while prices of basic industrial materials rose 0.1%.
U.S. weekly continuing jobless claims fall 43,000 to 2.49mln
U.S. weekly initial jobless claims unchanged at 311,000
ECONOMIC REPORT: Initial jobless claims unchanged at 311,000
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch Last Update: 8:31 AM ET Jun 14, 2007
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - First-time filings for state unemployment benefits were unchanged in the week ending June 9 at 311,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The four-week moving average of new claims - which smoothes out distortions caused by one-time events such as weather or holidays - rose by 3,750 to 311,250, a five-week high.
Labor markets remain healthy, the data show.
Meanwhile, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits fell by 43,000 to 2.487 million in the week ending June 2. The four-week average of continuing claims rose by 4,000 to 2.501 million.
The insured unemployment rate - the percentage of those eligible for benefits who are claiming - remained at 1.9%.
Economists say initial claims in the range of about 300,000 to 325,000 are consistent with healthy job growth of about 100,000 to 150,000 per month. Consistent levels over 350,000 would signal some weakening in the labor market, while a sustained drop below 300,000 could show further tightening in an already tight labor market.
Initial claims represent job destruction, while the level of continuing claims indicates how hard or easy it is for displaced workers to find new jobs.
Compared with the same time last year, initial claims are down about 1% while continuing claims are up about 3%.
In the week ending June 2, six states reported initial claims fell by more than 1,000, with fewer layoffs in construction, trade and manufacturing mentioned most frequently.
In a separate report, the Labor Department said the producer price index rose 0.9%, while the core PPI was up 0.2%. Wholesale food prices fell for the first time in seven months.
U.S. core PPI up 1.6% in past 12 months
U.S. PPI up 4.1% in past 12 months, most in a year
U.S. core intermediate PPI up 2.9% yoy, 3-year low
U.S. May PPI energy prices up 4.1%
U.S. May PPI food prices fall 0.2%, 1st drop in 7 months
U.S. May core PPI up 0.2% vs. 0.1% expected
U.S. May PPI up 0.9% vs. 0.6% expected
ECONOMIC REPORT: Producer prices rise 0.9% on energy; Wholesale food prices fall for first time in seven months
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatchLast Update: 8:32 AM ET Jun 14, 2007
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Led by another big gain in energy prices, wholesale prices rose a greater-than-expected 0.9% in May, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Wholesale food prices fell 0.2%, the first decline in seven months.
Energy prices jumped 4.1%, the biggest increase in six months. Wholesale gasoline prices rose 10.2%.
The core producer price index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2%, the first increase in three months.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were looking for smaller increases of 0.6% on the headline PPI and a 0.1% increase for the core PPI.
Headline inflation has risen 4.1% in the past 12 months, the largest increase in a year. But core inflation at the wholesale level is up a moderate 1.6% in the past 12 months.
One bright spot in the report was the continued deceleration in price increases for core intermediate goods, a closely watched indicator of inflationary pressures in the production pipeline. In the past year, the core intermediate PPI is up just 2.9%, the lowest in more than three years.
The report keeps the pressure on the Federal Reserve to remain vigilant on inflation. The PPI is not the Fed's focus; the real issue is what consumer prices do. The PPI measures prices in the production pipeline, not at the retail level.
The government will report on the consumer price index on Friday. The CPI is expected to rise 0.7% for overall inflation, and 0.2% for core inflation excluding food and energy prices. It would be the second largest increase in the CPI in the past 16 years. The Fed monitors a different but related inflation measure produced by the Commerce Department, known as the personal consumption expenditure price index, which will be released at the end of the month.
The Fed has left interest rates unchanged for nearly a year now and has signaled that interest rates could be steady at 5.25% for quite a while. The Federal Open Market Committee has said that inflation - not slow growth - is its main concern.
Details
The PPI has swung wildly in the past nine months, driven largely by movements in energy prices. The PPI rose 0.7% in April, 1% in March and 1.3% in February after falling 0.6% in January.
At the finished level, prices of capital equipment increased 0.1%. Heavy truck prices, which jumped 3.8% in April, were flat in May. Light truck prices fell 0.1%.
Car prices fell 0.2%. Computer prices fell 2%.
The 0.2% drop in food prices was led by a 35% plunge in vegetable prices, the biggest drop in five years. Dairy prices rose 4.5%, the most in three years.
Inflationary pressures were mixed further back in the production process in May. Prices for intermediate goods rose 1.1%, with the core intermediate PPI rising 0.4%.
Prices of crude goods rose 2%, while prices of basic industrial materials rose 0.1%.