US: Initial Jobless Claims jumps to 281K in week ending March 14 vs 220K expected

• Weekly Jobless Claims rose more than expected in US.
• US Dollar Index clings to strong gains above 102.

The Initial Jobless Claims in the US jumped to 281,000 from 211,000 in the week ending March 14th, the data published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Thursday. This reading came in worse than the market expectation of 220,000.

Further details of the report showed that the Continued Claims rose to 1.701 million in the week ending March 6th from 1.699 million in the previous week. 

USD reaction

The US Dollar Index largely ignored these figures and was last seen adding 1.37% on the day at 102.30.