Citi's U.S. economic surprise index falls after weak data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citi Research's barometer on U.S. economic data surprises declined on Thursday, retreating further from an over 21-month high set earlier this week, in the wake of weaker-than-expected data on jobless claims and traded goods. The Citi gauge <.CESIUSD>, which traders track for U.S. economic growth, fell to 36.5 points from 37.2 calculated on Wednesday. On Tuesday, it reached 43.1, which was its strongest since 47.0 on Sept. 4, 2014. On Feb. 4, the index hit -55.7, its weakest since May 2015, as investors fretted over tumbling oil prices and weakening global growth. Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose by 14,000 to 266,000 for the week ended July 23. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a reading of 260,000. The Commerce Department said its advance reading on trade balance of goods showed a deficit of $63.3 billion last month. Economists at Barclays had forecast a June reading of $60.0 billion. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Richard Chang)