Investing.com - Pending home sales in the U.S. rose more than expected in July, bolstering 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 1.3% last month, beating expectations for an increase of 0.6%.
Pending home sales fell 0.8% in June, whose figure was revised down from a previously reported gain of 0.2%.
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose to 111.3 in July from a downwardly revised 109.9 in June (initially 111.0) and is now 1.4% higher than July 2015 (109.8).
NAR chief economist Larry Yun note that, at 111.3, the index was showing its second highest reading this year.
Yun added that there would be more activity right now if there were more affordable listings on the market.
After the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1144 from around 1.1145 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.3116 from 1.3101 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 103.35 from 103.29 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 96.10 from 96.08 previously.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were lower after the open. The Dow 30 lost 0.10%, the S&P 500 fell 0.17%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded down 0.08%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,312.45 a troy ounce, compared to $1,313.15 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $45.92 a barrel from $46.03 earlier.