Investing.com - Pending home sales in the U.S. rose much more than expected in April, bolstering optimism over the health of the housing sector, industry data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said its pending home sales index rose by a seasonally adjusted 5.1% last month, beating expectations for a gain of 0.6%.
The index hit its highest level in over a decade.
Pending home sales in March advanced 1.6%, whose figure was revised up from a previously reported gain of 1.4%.
Year-on-year, pending home sales increased at annualized rate of 2.9%, beating forecasts for a 0.2% rise and following a gain of 2.9% in the prior month.
"The ability to sign a contract on a home is slightly exceeding expectations this spring even with the affordability stresses and inventory squeezes affecting buyers in a number of markets,” Larry Yun, NAR chief economist, said.
"The building momentum from the over 14 million jobs created since 2010 and the prospect of facing higher rents and mortgage rates down the road appear to be bringing more interested buyers into the market," he added.
After the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1189 from around 1.1203 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4683 from 1.4688 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 109.73 from 109.67 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 95.12, compared to 95.05 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets traded lower after the open. The Dow 30 dropped 0.06%, the S&P 500 inched down 0.10%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.10%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,225.00 a troy ounce, compared to $1,226.95 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $49.83 a barrel from $49.77 earlier.