Investing.com – U.S. existing home sales unexpectedly bounced back in September from a prior decline, bolstering optimism over the health of the housing market, according to a report released on Friday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
The industry data showed that home resales increased by 0.7% in September to a seasonally adjusted 5.39 million units from 5.35 million units in the previous month.
The consensus forecast was for a 1.0% decline to 5.30 million units in September.
The data helps to gauge the strength of the U.S. housing market and is considered to be a key indicator of overall economic strength.
“After three straight monthly declines, existing-home sales slightly reversed course in September, but ongoing supply shortages and recent hurricanes muted overall activity and caused sales to fall back on an annual basis,” the report indicated.
NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun noted that the 1.5% annual decline was the first since 2016.
“Home sales in recent months remain at their lowest level of the year and are unable to break through, despite considerable buyer interest in most parts of the country,” he said.
Yun explained that the decrease was due to stifling sales growth with not enough listings and quickly rising prices that strain the budgets of perspective buyers.
After the report, EUR/USD traded at 1.1787 compared to 1.1792 before the release, GBP/USD exchanged hands at 1.3170, compared to 1.3167 before the data, while USD/JPY traded at 113.42 compared to 113.40 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, traded at 93.52 compared to 93.48 earlier.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets traded flat after the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 67 points, or 0.29%, the S&P 500 gained 8 points, or 0.32%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite traded up 33 points, or 0.51%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,284.40 a troy ounce, compared to $1,284.94 ahead of the data, while U.S. crude oil changed hands at $51.20, compared to $51.14 earlier.