A separate report from the Labor Department Thursday showed filings for unemployment benefits remained low last week ahead of Friday’s jobs report for May. Jobless claims were unchanged at 218,000 in the week ended June 1, slightly above economist forecasts.
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The price-adjusted petroleum gap narrowed in April as exports hit a four-month high; excluding petroleum, the goods-trade shortfall narrowed slightly to $69.3 billion. A separate report Thursday showed Americans’ productivity rose at a 3.4% annualized pace in the first quarter, revised from an initially reported 3.6%, according to the Labor Department. Thursday’s trade data reflect revisions to figures going back to 2014. The full-year deficit for 2018 was revised to $627.7 billion from $622.1 billion, reflecting a bigger reduction in the services surplus than in the merchandise gap.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.