Credit: Investing.com -
Investing.com - U.S. non-farm productivity rose more than initially expected in the third quarter, while unit labor costs fell sharply, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said non-farm business sector labor productivity increased by a seasonally adjusted 2.3% in the three months ended September 30, above expectations for a gain of 2.2% and up from a preliminary estimate of 2.0%.
U.S. non-farm productivity rose by 2.9% in the second quarter.
The report also said unit labor costs fell by a seasonally adjusted 1.0% in the third quarter, compared to an initial forecast of a 0.3% increase. Analysts had expected unit labor costs to hold steady at 0.3%.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.2339 from around 1.2342 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5690 from 1.5698 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 119.27 compared to 119.26 earlier.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures remained mixed. The Dow futures indicated a loss of 0.1% at the open, the S&P 500 futures pointed to a drop of 0.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated an increase of 0.1%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,205.90 a troy ounce, compared to $1,206.60 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $67.25 a barrel from $67.22 earlier.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
