Initial jobless claims rose by 6,000 to 225,000, above market expectations for a reading of 220,000 for a new three-week high, supporting the belief that the Federal Reserve will implement interest rate cuts at every remaining meeting this year.

Elsewhere, outstanding claims fell by 1,000 to 1.82m, while the four-week moving average for initial claims, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, declined by 750 to 224,250.

On a non-seasonally adjusted monthly basis, claims decreased by 1,066 to 180,647.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com