Jobless Claims, Inflation, Trade Deficit Each Surge Higher:
Weekly jobless claims, headline inflation and the US trade deficit all moved higher, according to data released Thursday that posed more questions for the economic recovery.
The number of people filing new claims for unemployment insurance rose to a higher-than-expected 462,000 in the latest week, the Labor Department said on Thursday, while the number of people still collecting jobless benefits fell to an almost two-year low.
First-time jobless claims rose 13,000 in the week ended Oct. 9 from the prior week's upwardly revised 449,000 seasonally adjusted claims. The four-week average of first-time jobless benefits, which economists prefer because it smoothes out weekly fluctuations, rose 2,250 to 459,000.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected about initial 445,000 claims in the latest week.
The number of unemployed workers continuing to collect insurance benefits fell 112,000 to 4.399 million in the week ended Oct. 2, the lowest level since November 2008. The four-week average of continuing claims fell 34,500 to 4.489 million. Economists were expecting about 4.450 million continuing claims.
The unemployment rate of workers eligible for jobless benefits from the government fell to 3.5 percent from 3.6 percent in the prior week.
Meanwhile, rising food and energy prices pushed inflation at the wholesale level up twice as fast as expected last month, and prices excluding those staples rose at the fastest annual pace in a year, data released by the Labor Department showed on Thursday.
The overall producer price index rose 0.4 percent in September and the core index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.1 percent in the month. Economists polled by Reuters had expected overall prices to rise just 0.2 percent and the core producer price index to rise 0.1 percent in September.
Wholesale prices over the past year also rose faster than expected. Overall prices rose 4.0 percent from a year ago, compared to a 3.7 percent forecast. Core prices rose 1.6 percent over the past 12 months, the fastest pace since September 2009 and slightly faster than the 1.5 percent expected pace.
The Labor Department said food costs rose 1.2 percent in September after falling 0.3 percent in August. Energy prices rose 0.5 percent in September after rising 2.2 percent in August.
Also, the U.S. trade deficit widened sharply in August, reflecting a surge in imports of consumer products as businesses restocked their shelves in hopes of a pickup in consumer demand.
The politically sensitive deficit with China climbed to an all-time high, a development that was certain to increase pressure on the Obama administration to take a tougher line on trade issues including China's tightly controlled currency.
The Commerce Department says the deficit in August increased 8.8 percent to $46.3 billion. Exports edged up a slight 0.2 percent but this increase was swamped by a 2.1 percent jump in imports. Also, the U.S. trade deficit widened sharply in August, reflecting a surge in imports of consumer products as businesses restocked their shelves in hopes of a pickup in consumer demand.
