U.S. Initial Claims above trend, February trade deficit increases again
Initial claims at 221k from a third straight week at 212k are the highest since January 27, though this is not yet a clear break from what had been a very stable trend.
Supporting that point is a correction lower in continued claims to 1.791k to more than fully erase last week’s 15k rise to what was the highest level since January 27, at 1.810m.
February’s trade deficit of $68.9bn is a little wider than January’s $67.6bn and a third straight deterioration, suggesting net exports will be a modest negative in Q1 GDP.
The surprise came from a fall in the services surplus, with service exports up by 1.0% but service imports surging by 3.9%. Goods showed exports up 2.8% and imports up by 1.8%, a slightly better breakdown than respective gains of 2.8% and 2.3% in advance goods data, leaving the goods deficit slightly narrower.
