Forex: EUR/USD at 2-day low on latest US jobless data

_iNVEZZ.com Thursday July 18th:_ The euro remains under pressure from the US dollar early in the New York session today, with the pair having so far fallen to a two-day low at 1.3071, an intraday fall of 44 pips to this point.

In figures just out, the number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 334,000 in the week ended July 12, well down on the prior week’s revised figure of 358,000, and also comfortably below expectations for 345,000.
The unadjusted advance number of actual initial claims under state unemployment assistance programmes totalled 408,710 in the period, an increase of 25,350 on the prior period.

July’s readings for jobless claims may be skewed by the many factories which tend to shut for retooling at this time of year, making it difficult for the government to adjust the data for seasonal swings, especially since the shutdown schedule varies from year to year.
The Eurozone’s current account surplus was today reported to have fallen in May, due mainly to a greater deficit in current transfers and a decline in revenues. Seasonally adjusted, the current account surplus contracted to €19.6 billion in May from April’s revised €23.8 billion. Breaking down the numbers, the services account showed a surplus of €6.4 billion for the month, well down on April’s €8.1 billion, the goods trade account increased to a surplus of €18.1 billion, from €17.9 billion in April.
On an unadjusted basis, the current account for the 17-country grouping showed a surplus of €9.5 billion in May, significantly lower than April’s revised €16.6 billion.