Investing.com - U.S. new home sales rose significantly more than expected in October, boosting optimism over the health of the housing sector and supporting the case for higher interest rates, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said new home sales rose by 10.7% to a seasonally adjusted 495,000 units last month, compared to expectations for a gain of 6.0% to 500,000.
New home sales in September were revised down to 447,000 units from a previously reported 468,000 units.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0577 from around 1.0579 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5084 from 1.5091 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 122.91 from 122.89 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 100.19, compared to 100.17 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were higher after the open. The Dow 30 rose 0.15%, the S&P 500 tacked on 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite inched up 0.25%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,068.20 a troy ounce, compared to $1,068.50 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $41.91 a barrel from $41.92 earlier.