Investing.com - U.S. employment costs rose more than expected in the first three months of the year, official data showed on Thursday. In a report, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said employment costs, or the change in the price businesses and the government pay for civilian labor, rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in the three months ended March 31, above expectations for a 0.6% increase. The employment cost index rose by 0.6% in the preceding quarter. The ECI is a closely followed gauge that reflects how much companies, governments and nonprofit institutions pay their employees in wages and benefits. EUR/USD was trading at 1.1179 from around 1.1202 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5404 from 1.5422 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 119.06 from 118.84 earlier. The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.98, compared to 94.80 ahead of the report. Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open. The Dow futures pointed to a drop of 0.15%, the S&P 500 futures shed 0.15%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures slumped 0.4%. Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,202.60 a troy ounce, compared to $1,205.20 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $59.07 a barrel from $59.05 earlier.

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