Initial Unemployment Claims fall, 4-week average at 6 month high.

Initial Claims for UnemploymentSeasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment stood at 387,000 in the week ended June 16, according to the data released by the Department of Labor. The 4-week moving average stood at 386,250, a 6 month high, from the previous reported figure of 382,750.

The sustenance of this number above 375,000 indicates the slack in the labor market and that the economic recovery is still not strong enough to get businesses to increase the pace of hiring.

The Federal Reserve yesterday increased its unemployment target range between 8 to 8.2 percent up from 7.8 to 8 percent.

The numbers failed to excite market participants and the S&P500 remained flat in early morning trade while Gold lost $27 and was trading at $1588.