Unemployment Claims decreased to 280,000

USD - Major events in the week ahead

Events that marked the week:

On Monday, Empire State Manufacturing Index and Industrial Production figures were released. The December 2014 Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that business activity declined for New York manufacturers. The headline general business conditions index dropped fourteen points to -3.6, its first negative reading in nearly two years. Analysts were anticipating incline to 12.1 points. The new orders index also fell into negative territory, tumbling eleven points to -2.0, and the shipments index fell to -0.2.

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Unemployment Claims decreased to 289,000

In the week ending December 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 289,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level. Analysts were predicting increase to 297,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 294,000 to 295,000.

US Retail Sales increased by 0.7%

U.S. retail and food services sales for November, adjusted for seasonal variation were $449.3 billion, an increase of 0.7% from the previous month, and 5.1% above November 2013. It was also much better than expected raise by 0.1%.  Total sales for the September through November 2014 period were up 4.7% from the same period a year ago.  Core Retail Sales were up by 0.5%. Auto and other motor vehicle dealers were up 9.5% from November 2013 and nonstore retailers were up 8.7% from last year.