Investing.com - U.S. existing home sales rose more than expected in May to hit a seven-month high, easing concerns over the health of the housing market, industry data showed on Monday.
In a report, the National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales increased 4.9% to a seasonally adjusted 4.89 million units last month from 4.66 million in April.
Analysts had expected existing home sales to rise 2.2% to 4.73 million units in May.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said current sales activity is rebounding after the lackluster first quarter. “Home buyers are benefiting from slower price growth due to the much-needed, rising inventory levels seen since the beginning of the year,” he said.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar added to gains against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.12% to trade at 1.3584, compared to 1.3588 ahead of the data.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were mixed after the open. The Dow declined 0.1%, the S&P 500 dipped 0.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 tacked on 0.1%.