- Weekly Jobless Claims Continue To Decline In The U.S.
- Eurozone Trade Surplus Rises To 18.1 Billion Euros In June
- Different Views On Tapering From The Fed
Weekly Jobless Claims Continue To Decline In The U.S.
The weekly jobless claims data announced by the U.S. Department of Labor showed that the number of first-time claimants for unemployment benefits fell by 12 thousand from the previous week, from 387 thousand to 375,000, in the week ending August 6, meeting expectations.
Last week, 4-week average unemployment benefits applications increased by 1,750 people compared to the previous week and rose to 396 thousand 250 thousand people.
For the first week of August, the most recent jobless claims report comes a week after the July jobs report revealed a stronger-than-expected increase in employment. At the end of July, there were also a record number of job openings.
As businesses were forced to close due to public health regulations during the pandemic, unemployment benefits eligibility and payouts were enlarged. The expanded programs have already ended in certain states, and the national program is set to expire next month.
On the other hand, ongoing unemployment applications decreased by 114 thousand people to 2 million 866 thousand people in the week ending June 30, from 2 million 980 thousand people announced the previous week.
Eurozone Trade Surplus Rises To 18.1 Billion Euros In June
The Eurozone’s trade surplus with the rest of the world increased significantly in June from May, according to data issued on Friday by the European Union statistics office, as exports outpaced imports for the month.
According to June trade balance data from the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), the Eurozone’s trade surplus rose to 18.1 billion euros, from 7.5 billion euros in May, according to June trade balance data from the European Statistical Office (Eurostat).
The trade surplus of the European Union was 14.8 billion euros in the same period.
Exports from the Euro Area rose 23.8 percent year on year to 209.9 billion euros in June, while imports from outside the Euro Area rose 28.2 percent year on year to 191.8 billion euros. Thus, the Eurozone’s trade surplus increased by 24.6 percent year on year to 18.1 billion euros.
The European Union’s (E.U.) trade with outside the union increased by 22.3 percent year on year to 188.3 billion euros, while intra-union trade increased by 24.6% to 294.4 billion euros. China, the USA, and the UK have become the E.U.’s largest trading partners.
Different Views On Tapering From The Fed
Some of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) officials stated that the continued strong growth of the country’s economy and the recovery in the labor market indicate that it is almost time for the Fed to withdraw its support for the economy.
Fed officials are in the process of evaluating when and how the central bank will begin to decelerate the asset purchase program it launched last year to stabilize financial markets and support the economy during the pandemic.
Esther George, President of the Kansas City Fed, stated that the criteria to start reducing the bond-buying program were met based on the expectations that the rise in inflation, the improvement in the job market, and the strong demand will continue.
“I support ending asset purchases under these circumstances,” George said at an online seminar yesterday.
In an interview with CNBC, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said that the Fed should announce its schedule to begin reducing its bond-buying program next month and that it should start in October.
In an interview with Reuters, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin adopted a stance aiming to find a more middle ground, saying that a few more months may be needed until employment in the USA recovers sufficiently before the Fed withdraws its support for the economy.
