After reporting an unexpected pullback by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the previous week, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing initial jobless claims saw further downside in the week ended October 19th.

The report said initial jobless claims fell to 227,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 242,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 242,000 from the 241,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 238,500, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 236,500.

At 10 am ET, the Commerce Department is due to release its report on new home sales in the month of September. Economists expect new home sales to rise to an annual rate of 720,000 in September after plunging to a rate of 716,000 in August.

The Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the details of this month’s auctions of two-year, five-year and seven-year notes at 11 am ET.