U.S. initial claims dropped 19,000 to 326,000 the week ending July 27. The decline more than retraced the 9,000 increase to a revised 345,000 (it had been 343,000) the previous week and brings claims to their lowest level since January 2008. Market expectations were for a 345,000 reading in the latest week.
The four-week moving average of initial claims dipped to 341,250 from 345,750 the previous week. Continuing claims, for the week ending July 20th, fell 52,000 to 2.951 million.
