Thursday, May 12, 2016

Recession Watch: 
Big Jump In US Jobless Claims.

Last Saturday I wrote about US unemployment levels as an indicator of forthcoming recession probability.


Today US Jobless Claims data showed an unexpected increase (to 294,000) for a second straight week, to levels not seen since February of 2015:


One or 2 weeks data may not be completely definitive. However, in light of our increasing probability of a US recession over the next 4 to 6 months, this is data that will now potentially be more market-moving. Jobless Claims are announced each week on Thursday morning.

Interestingly, Jobless Claims data has been historically inversely correlated to the S&P 500. As Jobless Claims fall, the S&P 500 rises and vice versa:


Something that we and financial markets will be keeping a closer eye on in the weeks to come.

Stay tuned.


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