US initial jobless claims returned to their relatively positive tone after last week's minor setback.

Initial claims fell by 23,000 to 369,000 last week according to the US Labor Department, in line with the 370,000 expected by the market consensus.

On the other hand, the previous weekly reading was revised higher to 392,000 from 388,000.

The four-week moving average rose by 1,500 to 368,000 from the previous week's revised reading of 366,500.

The insured unemployment rate stayed steady at 2.5%.

Continuous unemployment claims, which include those claims not filed for the first time, fell by 2,000 to 3,254,000. The market consensus was expecting a reading of 3,260,000. The previous week's reading was revised higher to 3,256,000 from 3,252,000.

The four-week moving average fell by 6,750 to 3,269,750 from the previous week's revised reading of 3,276,500.

"This week's data has given the US labor market a positive tone again in the week leading up to the important monthly employment report," said analysts at Digital Look.

"Following September's positive report, Obama may have some more positive jobs numbers to rely on for his re-election bid on November 6th. The labour market has been showing some improvement, which may be a key factor for the elections," they said.

FM

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