In the last week, US initial jobless claims fell 37 to 335, to its lowest level in the last five years. The shareholders were positively surprised, who were expecting a much smaller drop to 370 units. Thus the moving average of the last four weeks also falls, down by 6.750 units to 359.250.
In December, the number of new construction sites started in the United States increased by 12,1% compared to November at an annual rate of 954.000 units. This was communicated by the Department of Commerce, which announced that the figure is the highest since July 2008.
Also in this case, the expectations of analysts were exceeded, who were expecting a smaller increase, of 3,4% on the month, to 890 new construction sites. On an annual basis, however, the increase was 36,9%.
