Investing.com - Pending home sales in the U.S. rose less than expected in June, dampening optimism over the health of the housing sector, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said its pending home sales index rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% last month, missing expectations for an increase of 1.4%.
Pending home sales in May declined 3.7%.
Year-on-year, pending home sales increased at annualized rate of 0.3%, missing forecasts for a 3.0% rise and following a gain of 2.4% in the prior month.
Despite the disappointing data, NAR chief economist Larry Yun noted that a solid bump in activity in the Northeast pulled up pending sales modestly in June
The index hit its second highest reading in the past 12 months, although at 111, remained well below April’s peak of 115.0.
"Until inventory conditions markedly improve, far too many prospective buyers are likely to run into situations of either being priced out of the market or outbid on the very few properties available for sale," Yun said.
After the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1002 from around 1.0997 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.3135 from 1.3128 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 105.77 from 105.72 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 97.22, compared to 97.23 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets traded higher after the open. The Dow 30 gained 0.36%, the S&P 500 rose 0.16%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.70%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,335.75 a troy ounce, compared to $1,334.60 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $43.01 a barrel from $42.99 earlier.