Investing.com – U.S. existing home sales dipped in May, as temporary factors and financing problems weighed on the market, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales declined by 3.8% to a seasonally adjusted 4.81 million units in May from 5.00 million units in April, whose figure was downwardly revised from 5.05 million.
Analysts had expected existing home sales to decline 4.4% to a seasonally adjusted 4.78 million units in May.
Commenting on the report, Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR said, “Spiking gasoline prices along with widespread severe weather hurt house shopping in April, leading to soft figures for actual closings in May.”
He added, “Current housing market activity indicates a very slow pace of broader economic activity, but recent reversals in oil prices are likely to mitigate the impact going forward.”
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar was down against the euro, with EUR/USD climbing 0.47% to trade at 1.4372.
Meanwhile, U.S. equity markets were up after the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%, the S&P 500 index gained 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite index added 0.9%.
In a report, the National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales declined by 3.8% to a seasonally adjusted 4.81 million units in May from 5.00 million units in April, whose figure was downwardly revised from 5.05 million.
Analysts had expected existing home sales to decline 4.4% to a seasonally adjusted 4.78 million units in May.
Commenting on the report, Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR said, “Spiking gasoline prices along with widespread severe weather hurt house shopping in April, leading to soft figures for actual closings in May.”
He added, “Current housing market activity indicates a very slow pace of broader economic activity, but recent reversals in oil prices are likely to mitigate the impact going forward.”
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar was down against the euro, with EUR/USD climbing 0.47% to trade at 1.4372.
Meanwhile, U.S. equity markets were up after the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%, the S&P 500 index gained 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite index added 0.9%.