WASHINGTON: New claims for US jobless benefits rose in the third week of January but continued a record streak of low levels, the Labour Department reported on Thursday. Initial claims for unemployment insurance stood at 259,000 for the week ended January 21, on a seasonally adjusted basis, an increase of 22,000 over the previous week. While the result surpassed an analyst consensus forecast by 13,000, it still marked 99 weeks of claims below 300,000, the longest streak below that level since 1970. The more stable four-week moving average fell 2,000 to 245,500, the lowest level recorded since November 1973. Though claims for jobless benefits are volatile, they can be used to gauge the prevalence of layoffs and the health of labour markets. Robust job creation throughout much of 2016 helped persuade US central bankers last month to implement only the second interest rate increase in a decade. Members of the US Federal Reserve are due to convene next week to review interest rate policy, but are not expected to take any action.