US claims for unemployment insurance (jobless claims) rose by 1,000 to 427,000 in the latest week. Economists were looking for a result near 415,000. But the US trade deficit narrowed from $46.82bn to $43.68bn in April, far better than expectations of a $48.8bn deficit. Exports rose 1.3pct with imports down 0.4pct. And US household wealth rose by $943bn in the March quarter with debt falling at a 2pct annual rate.

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The European Central Bank left official rates at 1.25pct and Bank of England left rates at 0.5pct.

European shares rose for the first time in seven days on Thursday with resources stocks in demand. The FTSEurofirst index rose by 0.9pct, the German Dax gained 1.4pct, and the UK FTSE rose by 0.8pct. In London trade, shares in both Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton rose by 1.3pct.

US sharemarkets rose for the first time in seven days on Thursday but ended trade off their highs. Shares in Exxon Mobil rose 0.5pct after saying that it bought privately held natural gas company Phillips Resources and related company TWP Inc for $1.69 billion last week. The Dow Jones lifted by 75pts or 0.6pct after being up 135pts at one stage. The S&P 500 index was higher by 0.7pct and the Nasdaq gained 9.5pts or 0.4pct.

US treasury prices fell on Thursday (yields higher) as investors switched affections from safe-haven government bonds to equities and commodities. Weak demand for an auction of $13 billion of 30-year bonds put further downward pressure on prices. US 2yr yields rose 3pts to 0.416pct and US 10yr yields rose 5pts to 2.99pct.

The US dollar was stronger against the Euro and Japanese yen on Thursday but weaker against commodity currencies as metal and oil prices rose. The Euro fell from highs near US$1.4645 to US$1.4480, before ending US trade near US$1.4510. But the Aussie dollar rose from lows near US105.65c to near US106.50c before ending US trade near US106.25c. And the Japanese yen eased from 79.95 yen per US dollar to JPY80.40, ending US trade near JPY80.30.

Crude oil prices rose again on Thursday as investors embraced commodities despite a modestly firmer greenback. The decision on Wednesday by OPEC oil producers to leave output targets unchanged further supported prices. The Nymex crude oil contract rose by US$1.19 or 1.2pct to US$101.93 a barrel. And London Brent crude rose by US$1.72 to a five-week high of US$119.57 a barrel.

Base metal prices were again mixed on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday as a firmer greenback balanced the more confident tone of global investors. Nickel rose 2.2pct with lead up 1.2pct but aluminium and zinc lost 0.3pct. And the gold price rose modestly in line with other commodities on Thursday with Comex gold futures up by US$4.00 an ounce to US$1,542.70.

Ahead: In Australia, no major economic data is scheduled. In the US, import and export prices are released. In China, trade data is released.

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