Not much of a market mover for mortgage-backed securities as the Fed comments on QE3 and the Cyprus debacle seem to be holding them in a tight range this a.m., albeit after a sharp rise in rates yesterday afternoon.
For the week ending March 16 the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 336,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 334,000. The 4-week moving average was 339,750, a decrease of 7,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 347,250.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent for the week ending March 9, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 9 was 3,053,000, an increase of 5,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,048,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,076,250, a decrease of 28,000 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,104,250.