Continuing Jobless Claims comes in at 1.805M against 1.831M consensus

Continuing Jobless Claims in the United States were reported at 1.805 million for the period ending July 16, 2026. This figure came in below the consensus expectation of 1.831 million, representing a -1.4% surprise against the forecast. The previous week’s revised figure stood at 1.814 million.

Following the release, market reactions were observed across major currency pairs and gold. Fifteen minutes after the data, AUDUSD moved -5.7 pips, EURUSD moved -12 pips, and GBPUSD moved -3.5 pips. NZDUSD saw a -8.1 pip change, while USDCAD moved -0.2 pips. USDCHF gained +9.4 pips, and USDJPY rose +9.3 pips. Gold, XAUUSD, moved -240 pips. For context, the median 1-hour move for AUDUSD is 8 pips, for EURUSD 10 pips, for GBPUSD 13 pips, for NZDUSD 8 pips, for USDCAD 10 pips, for USDCHF 8 pips, for USDJPY 10 pips, and for XAUUSD 28 pips. Several currency pairs, including AUDUSD, GBPUSD, and USDCAD, showed relatively small movements compared to their typical median 1-hour moves after past releases. XAUUSD’s move was notably larger than its median 1-hour move.