Investing.com – U.S. existing home sales unexpectedly rose in January to a six-month high encouraging optimism over the health of the housing market, according to a report released on Tuesday by the National Association of Retailers.
The industry data showed that home resales rose 0.4% in January to a seasonally adjusted 5.47 million units from 5.45 million units in the revised data for December.
The consensus forecast was for a -2.9% decline to 5.32 million units.
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.
"Despite the global economic slowdown, the housing sector continues to recover and will likely help the U.S. economy avoid a recession," NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.
After the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1004 from around 1.0998 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4084 from 1.4066 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 112.28 from 112.27 previously.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 97.50, compared to 97.56 ahead of the report.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,222.60 a troy ounce, compared to $1,221.10 ahead of the data, while Crude Oil traded at $32.59 a barrel from $32.64 earlier.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were modestly lower after the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 59 points, or -0.35%, the S&P 500 slipped 8 points, or -0.46%, while the NASDAQ Composite gave up 23 points, or -0.53%.