INSTANT VIEW: Jobless claims rise in latest week

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose by a larger than expected 15,000 last week, government data on Thursday showed, reinforcing evidence about the weak state of the labor market

KEY POINTS: * Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits increased to a seasonally adjusted 478,000 in the week ended Oct 18 from a revised 463,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said. * Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast 470,000 new claims versus a previously reported count of 461,000 the week before. * The Labor Department said that the effects of Hurricane Ike in Texas added roughly 12,000 claims to the total.

COMMENTS:

KIM RUPERT, MANAGING DIRECTOR, GLOBAL FIXED INCOME ANALYSIS, ACTION ECONOMICS LLC, SAN FRANCISCO:

"The increase was a little bit higher than we expected although apparently about 12,000 of the 15,000 was due to Hurricane Ike.

"That mitigates some of the increase. Nevertheless, the data are still consistent with erosion in the labor market. These numbers do coincide with the BLS survey week, giving them a little bit more importance. It looks like we're in for another weak payroll report. We're looking for about a 175,000 decline in jobs (for October) when they're reported next month and a rise in the unemployment rate to 6.3 percent."

STEVE GOLDMAN, MARKET STRATEGIST, WEEDEN & CO, GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT:

"The numbers were a bit higher than expect, and I guess its one barometer of the economy, which is weak right now. The numbers aren't a total surprise, given what the credit freeze is likely to do to the economy and what it has been doing. Just look, stock prices are down some 20 percent this month alone. I think these numbers will be bad for stock prices today."

NIGEL GAULT, CHIEF U.S. ECONOMIST, GLOBAL INSIGHT, LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS:

"The story is that the underlying trend is moving up pretty strongly and job losses are clearly getting worse. We think this month we'll see more than 200,000 jobs lost.

"We're looking at the economy contracting in the fourth quarter very sharply, certainly contracting in the first quarter, maybe contracting in the second quarter as well. Going through that whole period with GDP actually declining, all the time that's happening, you're going to see heavy job losses.

"We've been selling off around the world because we see a global recession coming. These numbers are consistent with that."

MARKET REACTION: STOCKS: U.S. equity index futures remain in the red after jump in jobless claims. BONDS: Treasury debt prices extend gains after data DOLLAR: U.S. dollar holds gains vs euro, remains lower vs yen.