Please try another search
Investing.com - Pending home sales in the U.S. rose slightly more than expected in March, easing concerns over the health of the housing sector, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index increased by a seasonally adjusted 1.1% last month, compared to expectations for a 1.0% gain.
Pending home sales in February rose by 3.6%, whose figure was revised up from a previously reported gain of 3.1%.
Year-on-year, pending home sales rose at annualized rate of 11.1% in March, above forecasts for an increase of 5.1% and following a gain of 12.0% in February.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says contract signings picked up in March as more buyers than usual entered this year's competitive spring market.
"Demand appears to be stronger in several parts of the country, especially in metro areas that have seen solid job gains and firmer economic growth over the past year," he said.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1085 from around 1.1078 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5424 from 1.5414 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 118.98 from 119.05 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 95.42, compared to 95.47 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were lower after the open. The Dow 30 shed 0.25%, the S&P 500 dipped 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,209.20 a troy ounce, compared to $1,208.80 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $57.27 a barrel from $57.31 earlier.
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.