US trade deficit grows in Feb., Jobless claims fall. US Dollar climbs in Forex Trading. | CountingPips Forex & Currency Trading Blog

April 10, 2008 - Forex Economic News

US trade deficit grows in Feb., Jobless claims fall. US Dollar climbs in Forex Trading.

The United States trade deficit grew more than expected in February according to a release by the Commerce Department today. The U.S. trade deficit reached $62.3 billion in February following a revised deficit of $59.0 billion in January. Market forecasts were expecting a deficit of around $57.5 billion for February. The U.S. had a total of $151.4 billion worth of exports in February which was an increase of $3.0 billion over January's total. February saw a substantial rise in imports as it totaled $213.7 billion worth of imports compared with $207.3 billion in January. Consumer goods contributed to the growth in imports with automotive vehicles, parts and engines leading the way with $1.8 billion worth of imports.

The weekly jobless claims report was also released today by the U.S. Labor Department. First time jobless claims fell in the week ending April 5th by 53,000 workers to a total of 357,000. This is down from the week prior which had a revised 410,000 total of initial jobless claims. The four week moving average increased by a mere 2,500 workers to 378,250 total workers. The number of workers filing for continuing jobless claims increased by 3,000 workers for the week ending March 29th to total 2,940,000. The four week moving average for continuing claims was up by 36,500 workers to total 2,898,500 workers.

What goes up must come down.

The U.S. dollar, which earlier in the day reached an all time low exchange rate against the euro, has been mounting a comeback in the currency trading markets today. The dollar fell to the new all time low mark of 1.5912 dollars per euro before the European Central Bank announced their interest rate decision early this morning. The dollar has made a comeback in the U.S. trading session and has almost gained back 200 pips. The dollar currently is trading at 1.5731 in the afternoon U.S. session. The British pound sterling has also been on the comeback trail after making an all time low against the euro this morning. The pound hit a low mark of 80.29 pence per euro and now has increased its worth a bit to 79.71 pence per euro.

Tags: us trade balance, trade deficit, usd, jobless claims, unemployment, record low, eur, gbp, pips

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