http://seekingalpha.com/article/220129-jobless-claims-top-thursday-s-economic-data?source=hp_wc

By Bryan McCormick

There are just two reports that are likely to draw wide attention. Jobless Claims, at 8:30 a.m. ET, will be the release that traders watch most closely given the persistent concerns about unemployment.

Consensus calls for initial claims to fall to 465,000 from the previous week's 479,000. The range of expected values for this part of the report is from a bullish 450,000 to a bearish 480,000.

A number that breaks either end of the range would have greater impact. Continuing claims are expected to fall slightly to 4.53 million from the previous week's 5.537 million.

Import and Export Prices will be released at the same time as Jobless Claims, at 8:30 a.m. ET. Import prices are expected to rise by 0.4 percent, while consensus for export prices is a rise of 0.1 percent.

When import prices rise by a greater margin than export prices, it is somewhat inflationary. At this stage it isn't likely that the report will generate a great deal of traders' interest unless each component breaks either end of the forecast range.

Import prices at the lowest end are seen as dropping by -0.4 percent, while the high end calls for a gain of 0.8 percent. Export prices have a smaller range of -0.1 percent at the low to 0.5 percent at the high.

(Chart courtesy of tradeMONSTER)