Investing.com - U.S. new home sales unexpectedly jumped in October, bolstering optimism over the health of the real estate sector, official data showed on Monday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said new home sales increased by 6.2% to a seasonally adjusted 685,000 units in October from the prior month’s revised reading of 645,000 (initially 667,000).
Analysts had expected a 6.0% decline from the previous month’s initial reading to a total of 625,000 units in October.
After the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1933 from around 1.1939 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.3354 from 1.3358 earlier, while USD/JPY traded at 111.15 compared to 111.11before the release.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 92.64, compared to 92.58 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stocks were trading slightly higher after the open as the Dow 30 gained 46 points, or 0.19%, the S&P 500 rose 2 points, or 0.08% , and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite inched up 5 points, or 0.08%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,293.34 a troy ounce, compared to $1,294.16 ahead of the data, while U.S. crude oil changed hands at $57.97, compared to $58.06 earlier.