Investing.com - Pending home sales in the U.S. showed no change in September, dampening optimism over the health of the housing sector, industry data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said its pending home sales index remained flat last month, compared to expectations for a gain of 0.2%.
The reading on the index itself remained at 106.0 in September.
The index is now at its lowest reading since January 2015 (104.7), after having fallen 3.5% from a year ago it what was its fifth decline in the last six months.
NAR chief economist Larry Yun noted that it was difficult for many would-be home buyers to find a place.
“Demand exceeds supply in most markets, which is keeping price growth high and essentially eliminating any savings buyers would realize from the decline in mortgage rates from earlier this year,” he explained.
“While most of the country, except for the South, did see minor gains in contract signings last month, activity is falling further behind last year's pace because new listings aren't keeping up with what's being sold,” he explained.
Following the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1716 from around 1.1720 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.3190 compared to 1.3189 previously, while USD/JPY was at 113.84 from 113.83 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.16, compared to 94.12 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets traded mixed after the open. The Dow 30 gained 100 points, or 0.43%, the S&P 500 rose 4 points, or 0.17%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 8 points, or 0.13%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,275.57 a troy ounce, compared to $1,276.02 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $51.97 a barrel from $52.09 earlier.