Daily Roundup of Key US Economic Data for Jan. 29

02:31 PM EST, 01/29/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Initial jobless claims decreased by 1,000 to 209,000 in the week ended Jan. 24, but the four-week moving average rose by 2,250 to 206,250 after three straight decreases.

Insured claims fell by 38,000 to 1.827 million in the employment survey week ended Jan. 17, the lowest level since the week ended Sept. 21, 2024, when it was 1.825 million. Insured claims were at a level of 1.914 million in the employment survey week ended Dec. 13.

Natural gas stocks fell by 242 billion cubic feet to 2.823 trillion cubic feet in the week ended Jan. 23, up 7.9% from a year earlier and 5.3% higher than the seasonal average for the current week over the previous five years.

Productivity rose by an unrevised 4.9% in Q3 and unit labor costs fell by an unrevised 1.9%, with growth in output, hours worked and compensation all the same as in the preliminary estimate.

The international trade deficit widened to $56.83 billion in November after narrowing to $29.21 billion in October, as exports declined and imports increased.

November wholesale inventories rose by 0.2% after a 0.2% gain in the previous month. At the same time, wholesale sales increased by 1.3%, more than expected, after a 0.4% drop.

Factory new orders rose by 2.7% in November with transportation orders up 14.7% and the remaining categories combining for a 0.2% gain.

Durable goods orders were unrevised from the 5.3% increase in the advance estimate, while nondurable goods new orders were flat.

Factory shipments fell by 0.1% and factory inventories rose by 0.1%.

Business sales are tracking up 0.6% in November, with the retail sales portion eligible for revision.

The Q4 GDPnow estimate from the Atlanta Fed is for a 4.2% gain, revised down from a 5.4% gain in the previous estimate. The next update is expected on Feb. 2.

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