Investing.com - U.S. new home sales rose more than expected in December, boosting optimism over the health of the housing market, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said new home sales rose by 10.8% to a seasonally adjusted 544,000 units last month, compared to expectations for a gain of 2.0% to 500,000.
New home sales in November were revised up to 491,000 units from a previously reported 490,000 units.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0884 from around 1.0888 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4277 from 1.4297 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 118.48 from 118.55 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 99.00, compared to 98.97 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were lower after the open. The Dow 30 shed 0.65%, the S&P 500 dipped 0.35%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.75%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,116.70 a troy ounce, compared to $1,116.90 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $30.86 a barrel from $31.04 earlier.