Investing.com - U.S. new home sales declined much more than expected in April, dampening optimism over the U.S. housing market, official data showed on Tuesday.
New home sales tumbled by 11.4% to a seasonally adjusted 569,000 units last month, compared to expectations for a decline of 1.5% to 610,000, the Commerce Department said in a report.
New home sales in March were revised up to 642,000 units from a previously reported 621,000 units.
After the report, which was released simultaneously with the Richmond manufacturing index, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1226 from around 1.1233 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.2985 from 1.2988 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 111.11 from 111.13 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 96.92, compared to 96.86 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were mixed after the open. The Dow 30 edged forward 14 points, or 0.07%, the S&P 500 tacked on 1 point, or 0.05%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 4 points, or 0.07%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,260.98 a troy ounce, compared to $1,261.95 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $51.09 a barrel from around $51.20 prior to the release.