US Initial Jobless Claims Flat Last Week, Trade Deficit Narrows, Housing Starts Surge

MaticHoleFiller · 2026-03-12T20:28:56+00:00

Economic data released Thursday showed that initial jobless claims remained relatively flat compared to the previous week, January's trade deficit contracted far more than expected, while new housing starts also exceeded expectations:The Labor Department reported that for the week ended March 7, seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims totaled 213,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week and below the Dow Jones consensus expectation of 215,000. Continuing jobless claims, released a week later, decreased by 21,000 to 1.85 million.Commerce Department data showed that January's trade deficit fell to $54.5 billion, a decrease of $18.4 billion from the previous month, well below the forecast of $67 billion. This data covers a period before the Supreme Court ruled, rejecting many of the tariffs ordered by President Donald Trump.On housing data, January building permits

MaticHoleFiller

2026-03-12 20:28:56

Economic data released on Thursday showed that initial unemployment claims remained roughly unchanged from the previous week, January’s trade deficit shrank much more than expected, and new home construction data also exceeded forecasts:

The Labor Department reported that for the week ending March 7, seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims totaled 213,000, down 1,000 from the previous week, below the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 215,000. The number of continued unemployment claims, released a week later, decreased by 21,000 to 1.85 million.

Data from the Commerce Department indicated that the January trade deficit fell to $54.5 billion, down $18.4 billion from the previous month, significantly below the forecast of $67 billion. These figures cover the period before the Supreme Court ruling that rejected many tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

In housing data, the seasonally adjusted annualized total of building permits in January was 1.38 million units, down 5.4% from December and below the expected 1.41 million. However, the annualized total of new home starts was 1.49 million units, up 7.2% month-over-month and above the forecast of 1.35 million.

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