By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New claims for U.S. unemployment benefits increased to a more than two-month high last week, but remained at a level consistent with tightening labor market conditions and further wage gains that could keep inflation hot for a while. The report from the Labor Department on Thursday also showed the number of Americans collecting state unemployment checks was the smallest in more than 52 years towards the end of April. Economists said last week’s increase in initial claims was probably due to difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations aroun…