Investing.com - U.S. existing home sales rose more than expected in July to hit the highest level since 2007, boosting optimism over the health of the economy and supporting the case for a U.S. interest rate hike this year, industry data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales increased 2.0% to a seasonally adjusted 5.59 million units last month from 5.48 million in June. Analysts had expected existing home sales to fall 0.6% to 5.44 million units in July.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1168 from around 1.1173 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5658 from 1.5659 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 123.87 from 123.81 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 96.23, compared to 96.20 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were lower after the open. The Dow 30 dropped 1.2%, the S&P 500 shed 0.95%, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.95%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,147.30 a troy ounce, compared to $1,146.80 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $41.27 a barrel from $41.28 earlier.