U.S. rates futures steady; dollar Libor rises

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. short-term interest rates futures were little changed on Thursday following data showing weekly domestic jobless claims hit a nearly three-month high and that worker productivity increased more than expected in the third quarter.

The latest U.S. data did not change traders' views about the prospect of an interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve at its Dec. 13-14 meeting.

On Wednesday, the Fed as expected left its target range on interest rates unchanged at 0.25 percent to 0.50 percent and kept the door open to raise them as the case for such a move has "continued to strengthen."

Federal fund futures implied traders saw about a 67 percent chance that the U.S. central bank would raise its target range on interest rates by a quarter-point to between 0.50 percent and 0.75 percent in December, flat from Wednesday's close, according to Reuters data.

Meanwhile, a key measure on interbank borrowing cost ticked higher on Thursday.

The London interbank offered rate on three-month dollars rose for the first time in six sessions to 0.88094 percent, up from 0.87567 percent on Wednesday.

Libor is a benchmark rate for about $350 trillion worth of financial products worldwide.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Lisa Von Ahn)

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