Investing.com - U.S. new home sales increased more than expected, beating expectations and bolstering optimism over the state of the real estate market, official data showed on Friday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said new home sales rose by 2.9% to a seasonally adjusted 610,000 units in May from the prior month’s revised reading of 593,000 (initially 569,000).
Analysts had expected a 5.4% increase from the previous month’s initial reading to a total of 597,000 units in June.
After the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1188 from around 1.1186 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.2718 from 1.2714 earlier, while USD/JPY traded at 111.28 compared to 111.20 before the release.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 97.03, compared to 97.04 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stocks were trading with mixed signs after the open. The Dow 30 fell 33 points, or 0.15%, the S&P 500 inched up less than a point, or 0.01%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite traded down 7 points or 0.11%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,257.36 a troy ounce, compared to $1,258.32 ahead of the data, while U.S. crude oil changed hands at $43.16, compared to $42.64 earlier.