Data from the Labor Department on Thursday showed the number of jobless claims filed the week ended Sept. 4 fell to 310,000, the lowest since the coronavirus pandemic took hold. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had forecast a print of 335,000.
The Federal Reserve is watching the labor market recovery to help gauge when it will wind down its bond-buying program. The European Central Bank announced on Thursday that it will slow the pace of its asset-purchase program amid surging inflation.
In terms of data due out in the U.S. on Friday, August’s producer price index is due to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The index tracks the changes in selling prices received by domestic producers for their output and is one measure of inflation, which is another economic indicator being used by the Fed to determine its timeline for any changes to its policy.
There are no auctions scheduled to be held on Friday.
– CNBC