Investing.com - Pending home sales in the U.S. rose less than expected in September, dampening optimism over the health of the housing sector, industry data showed on Monday.
In a report, the National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% last month, disappointing expectations for a 0.5% gain. Pending home sales in August fell by 1%.
Year-on-year, pending home sales rose at annualized rate of 1.0% in September, compared to expectations for an increase of 2.2% and following a decline of 4.1% in August.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says moderating price growth and sustained inventory levels are keeping conditions favorable for buyers.
“Housing supply for existing homes was up in September 6% from a year ago, which is preventing prices from rising at the accelerated clip seen earlier this year,” he said.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.2687 from around 1.2680 ahead of the release of the data, while GBP/USD was at 1.6116 from 1.6112 earlier.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were lower after the open. The Dow fell 0.4%, the S&P 500 shed 0.55%, while the Nasdaq 100 slumped 0.4%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,229.60 a troy ounce, compared to $1,229.00 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $79.67 a barrel from $79.63 earlier.