Investing.com - U.S. new home sales surged in February, beating expectations and bolstering optimism over the state of the real estate market, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said new home sales rose by 6.1% to a seasonally adjusted 592,000 units in February from the prior month’s revised reading of 558,000 (initially 555,000). That was its highest level since July 2016.
Analysts had expected a 0.7% increase from the previous month’s initial reading to a total of 565,000 units in February.
Following the report, EUR/USD traded at 1.0780, compared to 1.0781 before the data, GBP/USD was at 1.2520 from 1.2510 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 111.06, compared to the prior 110.89.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 99.58, compared to 99.54 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stocks were trading flat after the open. The Dow 30 gained 13 points, or 0.07%, the S&P 500 inched up 1 point, or 0.06% , while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 3 points, or 0.06%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,247.00 a troy ounce, compared to $1,249.65 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $47.72 a barrel from $47.71 earlier.