Chances of another 75 basis point hike in U.S. interest rates. strengthened on Thursday, when weekly labor market data again turned out to be stronger than expected.
At the same time, revised statistics show that the economy shrank less than reported in the second quarter.
The Labor Department reported that initial claims for unemployment benefits fell to 243,000 last week, the fourth decline in the last five weeks. This brings new indications of strengthening from the labor market. The figures show that there are still more than enough job opportunities in the economy to absorb the increase in the layoff rate. Continuing claims also fell by 19,000 to 1.415 million.
At the same time, the Bureau of Economic Analysis revised its estimate for gross domestic product in the second quarter to show an annual decline of 0.6%, instead of the 0.9% initially reported.
The figures came hours after The Wall Street Journal published an interview with Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic saying they thought it might be necessary to raise the Fed Funds target range by another 75 basis points in September if economic data remains strong.
The US dollar index which measures the greenback against six major currencies traded down 0.08% to trade at 108.510.
