US Jobless Claims Dip

Investing.com — The number of Americans who have filed first-time applications for unemployment benefits unexpectedly dipped last week, pointing to ongoing resilience in the US labor market.

Initial claims for state jobless benefits edged down to a seasonally-adjusted 218,000 in the week ending Sept. 21, according to data from the Labor Department on Thursday. The previous week's tally was revised higher to 222,000, while economists had predicted a reading of 224,000.

Separately, the final reading of the second-quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) showed that the world's largest economy expanded at an annualized pace of 3.0% during this period, confirming a previously upwardly-revised second reading. The economy grew at a rate of 1.4% in the first quarter.

These numbers come as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak on Thursday. Investors are keen to glean more insight into the central bank's interest rate plans for the rest of the year. Powell will deliver pre-recorded remarks at the US Treasury Market Conference in New York at 09:20 ET, according to the Fed's website.

Following an outsized 50-basis point rate cut last week, Powell stated this move was part of a "recalibration" of policy designed to protect the US labor market while sustainably bringing inflation back down to the Fed's stated 2% target.

Several other policymakers have defended the significant cut, including Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, who mentioned the need for the Federal Open Market Committee to "balance its focus" between suppressing price pressures and avoiding "pain" in the broader economy.

However, Fed officials have not been unanimous in their support for the size of the cut. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman, who voted for a more traditional 25 basis point reduction, expressed concerns regarding lingering inflation risks.

Traders will have the chance to analyze the Fed's preferred measure of inflation on Friday.