Investing.com - Pending home sales in the U.S. rose more than expected in September, 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 1.5% last month, beating expectations for an increase of 1.2%.
The pending home sales index increased to 110.0 from the prior 108.4, which had been revised from 108.5.
August’s reading was revised down to a 2.5% decline, compared to the initial reading of a 2.4% decrease.
"Buyer demand is holding up impressively well this fall with realtors reporting much stronger foot traffic compared to a year ago," NAR chief economist Larry Yun said. "
“Although depressed inventory levels are keeping home prices elevated in most of the country, steady job gains and growing evidence that wages are finally starting to tick up are encouraging more households to consider buying a home," Yun remarked.
After the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.0916 from around 1.0913 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.2205 from 1.2210 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 104.94 from 104.88 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was unchanged at 98.69.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were trading flat after the open. The Dow 30 edged forward 12 points, or 0.07%, the S&P 500 inched up 2 points, or 0.08%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 9 points, or 0.17%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,267.85 a troy ounce, compared to $1,267.95 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $49.55 a barrel from $49.38 earlier.