U.S. existing home sales drop 2.3% to 5.57 million in April
Investing.com
Published May 24, 2017 10:02AM ET
U.S. existing home sales drop to 5.57 million in April
Investing.com - U.S. existing home sales fell more than expected in April, but remained in territory consistent with a healthy housing market, industry data showed on Wednesday.
The National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales decreased 2.3% to a seasonally adjusted 5.57 million units last month from 5.70 million in March. Analysts had expected existing home sales to fall 1.1% to 5.65 million units in April.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says every major region except for the Midwest saw a retreat in existing sales in April.
"Last month's dip in closings was somewhat expected given that there was such a strong sales increase in March at 4.2 percent, and new and existing inventory is not keeping up with the fast pace homes are coming off the market," he said.
"Demand is easily outstripping supply in most of the country and it's stymieing many prospective buyers from finding a home to purchase."
USD/JPY was at 111.89 from around 111.96 ahead of the release of the data, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1191 from around 1.1189 earlier, while GBP/USD was at 1.2953 from 1.2949.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 97.26, compared to 97.29 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were modestly higher after the open. The Dow 30 rose 0.1%, the S&P 500 tacked on 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.1%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,253.13 a troy ounce, compared to $1,252.48 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $51.49 a barrel from $51.48 earlier.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Investing.com
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.