Last week, the number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. came in at 200,000, higher than the market expectation of 195,000 and up from the revised previous reading of 191,000. The 4-week moving average remained unchanged at 195,250, continuing claims were reported at 1.697 million (below the expected 1.71 million), and the insured unemployment rate held steady at 1.1%.