Key US data reviewed and previewed - Nomura

Analysts at Nomura offered a recap of the key US data events from overnight.

Key Quotes:

"Initial jobless claims: Initial unemployment claims fell 9k to 221k for the week ending 3 February. The four-week moving average of initial claims fell 10k to 224.5k, the lowest since 1973. Continuing jobless claims also fell 33k to 1923k for the week ending 27 January. The continued downtrend in claims highlights strong labor market conditions with low unemployment. Further, this report appears consistent with incoming business surveys which have indicated difficulties finding qualified workers.

Preview Wholesale inventories: Wholesale inventories increased a modest 0.2% m-o-m in December after increasing 0.7% in November, according to the advance estimate by the Census Bureau. In the final report for December, we and markets do not expect major revisions. The advance report indicates that wholesalers’ inventory of durable goods rose a steady 0.4%, while that of nondurable goods fell 0.2%, which may have been driven by fluctuations in various fuel prices. The strong increase in November was in part driven by a sharp increase in petroleum prices, which could revert in December. According to the BEA’s advance estimate of Q4 GDP, inventory investment was soft in Q4 following a strong contribution to GDP growth in Q3. Consistent with this report, we expect only modest growth in wholesalers’ inventories in Q4."