Jobless claims pop, PPI rises 0.3%

We continue to get a barrage of economic data, most of which continues to point to a troubled environment. Initial jobless claims popped to 637,000 from 605,000 in the previous week. That was well above the 610,000 level that was forecast.

More importantly, people who lose their jobs continue to have trouble finding new work. Continuing claims surged to 6.56 million from 6.358 million a week earlier. That was well above the 6.4 million forecast and a fresh all-time high. The chart above sure does speak volumes, doesn't it?

Meanwhile, the Producer Price Index gained 0.3% on the month. The core PPI rose 0.1%, in line with expectations. At the intermediate stage of production, prices fell 0.5% on the headline and 0.9% on the core. Crude goods rose 3% in price, though the core crude index fell 0.6%.