Official figures show that new claims for US unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week. But the Labor Department said the rise was largely due to Easter holiday-related factors.
Initial jobless claims totalled a seasonally adjusted 484,000 in the week ending April 10, the highest level since late February, the department reported. That marked an increase of 24,000 from the previous week. Analysts had expected a fall.
The Labor Department said the latest increase was due to seasonal factors. 'Volatility is always associated with the Easter holiday,' a department official said, adding that this was due more to administrative factors than lay-offs.
The four-week moving average of initial jobless claims, which helps to smooth volatility, was 457,750 last week, about the same as in mid-March.
In separate data, US industrial production rose 0.1% in March. Economists had expected a gain of 0.7%.
Meanwhile, US Treasury figures show that China cut its US Treasury bond holdings in February to the lowest level in at least nine months, though it remained the top holder of American government debt.
Beijing sliced its holdings to $877.5 billion from $889 billion in January, according to the Treasury Department's latest figures on international capital flows. It was the fourth consecutive monthly drop in Chinese holdings and marked the lowest level since June last year.
