US jobless claims tick down; Mexico’s economy growth: Economic wrap

• In an almost identical situation, the Philippines central bank kept its interest rate at 2 percent, which was also the country’s record low. This is to support the economic recovery of the south Asian country. However, the bank still acknowledged that the

Initial jobless claims in the United States fell to 268,000 for the week ending on 13 November, a slight decline of 1,000 claims compared to the previous week, the US Department of Labor said.

The Department added that this is the lowest level since 14 March.

Moreover, the four-week moving average decreased by 5,750 to reach 272,750.

Interest rates on hold in Indonesia and the Philippines

The central bank of Indonesia decided to maintain its interest rate at a record low of 3.5 percent to stimulate the economy as it rebounds from the adverse effects of the pandemic.

In an almost identical situation, the Philippines central bank kept its interest rate at 2 percent, which was also the country’s record low. This is to support the economic recovery of the south Asian country. However, the bank still acknowledged that there are some inflationary risks next year.

Mexico’s growth

Mexico's economy grew by 1.9 percent in October on an annual basis, according to a preliminary estimate by the country’s official statistics agency, INEGI. 

This is lower than September’s growth rate, which stood at 5 percent, a preliminary estimate said.

Output of secondary activities, which include manufacturing, rose by 1.3 percent. In addition, tertiary activities, which include the services sector, went up by 2 percent.

Sweden’s unemployment

Sweden's unemployment rate fell to 7.6 percent in October down from 8.2 percent in the previous month, data from Statistics Sweden showed. 

However, the drop was smaller for the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate as it fell from 8.8 percent to 8.7 percent.

The jobless rate for men was 7 percent while for women it was 8.3 percent, official data showed.

Swiss industrial production and trade surplus

Switzerland's trade surplus reached 4.4 billion Swiss francs ($4.7 billion) in October, little unchanged from the previous month. 

Exports fell by 1.4 percent on a monthly basis while imports went down by 2.3 percent.

Turkey’s lira crumbles

The Turkish lira fell to an all-time low near 11 lira per dollar. The currency has suffered a decline of more than 10 percent since the beginning of November, making it the worst month for the currency since the lira crisis in August 2018.