Investing.com - U.S. new home sales rose to the highest level in seven years in February, fuelling optimism over the health of the housing sector, official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said new home sales jumped by 7.8% to a seasonally adjusted 539,000 units last month, compared to expectations for a decline of 1.3% to 465,000.
New home sales in January were revised up to 500,000 units from a previously reported 481,000 units.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0925 from around 1.0933 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4877 from 1.4887 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 119.69 from 119.65 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 97.43, compared to 97.33 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were mixed after the open. The Dow 30 fell 0.1%, the S&P 500 dipped 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.1%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,187.90 a troy ounce, compared to $1,188.00 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $47.38 a barrel from around $47.49 earlier.