Investing.com - U.S. new home sales fell less than expected in January, easing concerns over the health of the housing sector, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said new home sales fell by 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted 481,000 units last month, compared to expectations for a decline of 1.3% to 475,000.
New home sales in December were revised up to 482,000 units from a previously reported 481,000 units.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1353 from around 1.1346 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5489 from 1.5491, while USD/JPY was at 118.98 from 119.01 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.36, compared to 94.39 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were down after the open. The Dow 30 lost 0.1%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.15%, while the Nasdaq 100 slumped 0.1%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,204.60 a troy ounce, compared to $1,205.20 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $49.16 a barrel from $49.17 earlier.