The claimant count fell by a seasonally adjusted 14,800 in January, compared to expectations for a decrease of 3,000 people, and following a drop of 15,200 a month earlier, whose figure was revised from a previously reported decline of 4,300. Meanwhile, the average earnings index, including bonuses, rose by a seasonally adjusted 1.9% in the three months to December, matching forecasts and after increasing by 2.1% in the three months to November. Excluding bonuses, wages rose by 2.0%, above expectations for 1.8% and following a 1.9% increase in the three months to November.

 

In the US session, Building Permits, Housing Starts, PPI and Industrial Production figures were released.The Producer Price Index for final demand advanced 0.1% in January, seasonally adjusted, beating forecasts on 0.2% decrease. Final demand prices decreased 0.2% in December and advanced 0.4% in November. On an unadjusted basis, the final demand index declined 0.2% for the 12 months ended in January.The increase in the final demand index for January can be traced to a 0.5% advance in prices for final demand services. In contrast, the index for final demand goods moved down 0.7%. 

 

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,202,000. This is 0.2% below the revised December rate of 1,204,000, but is 13.5% above the January 2015 estimate of 1,059,000. Single-family authorizations in January were at a rate of 720,000; this is 1.6% below the revised December figure of 732,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 442,000 in January.

 

Privately-owned housing starts in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,099,000. This is 3.8% below the revised December estimate of 1,143,000, but is 1.8% above the January 2015 rate of 1,080,000. Single-family housing starts in January were at a rate of 731,000; this is 3.9% below the revised December figure of 761,000. The January rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 354,000.

 

Industrial production increased 0.9% in January after decreasing 0.7% in December. A storm late in the month likely held down production in January by a small amount. The index for utilities jumped 5.4%; demand for heating moved up markedly after having been suppressed by unseasonably warm weather in December. Manufacturing output increased 0.5% in January and was 1.2% above its year-earlier level.

 

Focus of the session was on FOMC Meeting Minutes. Federal Reserve policy makers debating their outlook for interest rates last month expressed concern that the fall in commodity prices and the rout in financial markets increasingly posed risks to the U.S. economy. “Participants judged that the overall implications of these developments for the outlook for domestic economic activity was unclear but they agreed that uncertainty had increased,” according to minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s Jan. 26-27 meeting released Wednesday in Washington. “Many saw these developments as increasing the downside risks to the outlook.”

 

“While participants continued to expect that gradual adjustments in the stance of monetary policy would be appropriate, they emphasized that the timing and pace of adjustments will depend on future economic and financial-market developments and their implications for the medium-term economic outlook,” the minutes said. Officials agreed that incoming labor-market indicators had been “encouraging,” while data on spending and production were “disappointing.”

 

There will be no data releases from the UK tomorrow.In the US session Unemployment Claims and Philly Fed Manufacturing Index data will be published. Analysts are forecasting rise to 275,000 in unemployment claims, while Philly Fed Manufacturing Index should rise to -2.9.

 

Figures to watch:

 

Unemployment Claims (Thursday 14:30)

Philly Fed Manufacturing Index (Thursday 14:30)