Investing.com - Pending home sales in the U.S. fell for the second straight month in September, dampening optimism over the health of the housing sector, industry data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index dropped by a seasonally adjusted 2.3% last month, disappointing expectations for a gain of 1.0%.
Pending home sales in August fell by 1.4%, whose figure was revised from a previously reported drop of 1.4%.
Year-on-year, pending home sales rose at annualized rate of 2.5% in September, below forecasts for an increase of 7.4% and following a gain of 6.6% in the prior month.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says a combination of factors likely led to September's dip in contract signings.
"There continues to be a dearth of available listings in the lower end of the market for first–time buyers, and Realtors in many areas are reporting stronger competition than what's normal this time of year because of stubbornly–low inventory conditions," he said.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0963 from around 1.0958 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5288 from 1.5280 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 120.99 from 121.04 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 97.47, compared to 97.50 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were mildly lower after the open. The Dow 30 shed 0.15%, the S&P 500 dipped 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.5%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,154.60 a troy ounce, compared to $1,153.50 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $46.20 a barrel from $46.20 earlier.