• Weekly Initial Jobless Claims fell to 198K in the week ending on 25 December. 
• Markets haven't seen much of a reaction amid holiday-thinned trading conditions. 

There were 198,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US during the week ending December 25, data published by the US Department of Labor (DoL) revealed on Thursday. This reading followed last week's print of 206K (revised up from 205K) and came in below market expectations for 208K. 

Continued jobless claims dropped sharply to 1.716M in the week ending December 18, the data showed, well below expectations for a small rise to 1.868M from 1.856M the week prior (which was revised down from 1.859M). The insured unemployment rate fell to 1.3% from 1.4% in the prior week. 

Market Reaction

Markets do not seem to have reacted to the latest weekly jobless claims numbers, though the DXY has seen some positive ticks in recent trade and moved back to 96.00. Whether the latest strong labour statistics, which showed the insured unemployment rate falling to 1.3% from 1.4%, can translate into a sustained dollar rebound in holiday-thinned trading conditions remains to be seen.