Investing.com - Pending home sales in the U.S. surged in February, bouncing back from a previous decline and bolstering optimism over the health of the housing sector, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said its pending home sales index increased by a seasonally adjusted 5.5% last month, more than doubling expectations for an increase of 2.4%.
The pending home sales index increased to 112.3 in February from the prior 106.4.
January’s reading was revised to a 0.8% decline, compared to the initial reading of a 2.8% decrease.
Year-on-year, pending home sales increased at an annualized rate of 2.6% in February, its largest increase since last April and the second highest since May 2006.
“Buyers came back in force last month as a modest, seasonal uptick in listings were enough to fuel an increase in contract signings throughout the country,” NAR chief economist Larry Yun said.
“The stock market's continued rise and steady hiring in most markets is spurring significant interest in buying, as well as the expectation from some households that delaying their home search may mean paying higher interest rates later this year,” he added, while also noting that warm weather in February also played a role in buyers searching for a home.
Following the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.0755 from around 1.0757 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.2435 compared to 1.2426 previously, while USD/JPY was at 110.92 from 110.81 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 99.86, compared to 99.83 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets traded mixed after the open. The Dow 30 dropped 0.23%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.08%, while the Nasdaq Compositeadvanced 0.13%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,252.15 a troy ounce, compared to $1,253.85 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $48.59 a barrel from $48.57 earlier.