Investing.com - Pending home sales in the U.S. rose more than forecast in October, 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 increased by 3.5% last month, compared to expectations for a gain of just 1.0%.
The reading on the index itself increased to 109.3 from the revised figure of 105.6 (initially 106.0).
The index is now at its highest reading since June, but remained 0.6% lower than a year earlier.
“Last month's solid increase in contract signings were still not enough to keep activity from declining on an annual basis for the sixth time in seven months,” NAR chief economist Larry Yun noted in the report.
“Home shoppers had better luck finding a home to buy in October, but slim pickings and consistently fast price gains continue to frustrate and prevent too many would-be buyers from reaching the market,” he explained.
Yun highlighted that existing inventories have been decreasing on an annual basis for 29 consecutive months.
“Until new home construction climbs even higher and more investors and homeowners put their home on the market, sales will continue to severely trail underlying demand,” he said.
Following the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1838 from around 1.1833 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.3410 compared to 1.3401 previously, while USD/JPY was at 112.05 from 112.00 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was unchanged at 93.27.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets traded mixed after the open. The Dow 30 gained 100 points, or 0.42%, the S&P 500 rose 5 points, or 0.21%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 24 points, or 0.35%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,283.56 a troy ounce, compared to $1,284.38 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $57.81 a barrel from $57.87 earlier.