Investing.com - U.S. new home sales plunged more than expected in December, dampening optimism over the health of the housing market, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said new home sales sank by 10.4% to a seasonally adjusted 536,000 units last month.
Analysts had expected a 1.0% drop from the previous month to a total of 588,000 units in December.
New home sales in November were revised to 598,000 units, or a 4.7% gain, from the prior reading of 592,000 units.
Immediately following the report, EUR/USD was unchanged at 1.0686, GBP/USD was at 1.2574 from 1.2577 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 114.35, compared to the prior 114.23.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 100.48, compared to 100.46 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stocks were trading slightly higher after the open. The Dow 30 gained 47 points or 0.23%, the S&P 500 inched up 2 points, or 0.07%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 8 points or 0.14%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,188.60 a troy ounce, compared to $1,189.45 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $53.79 a barrel from $53.74 earlier.