The dollar was up against its major competitors early Friday, but reversed direction after the release of the disappointing new home sales report for June. The U.S. currency has pulled back to nearly flat on the day.
New home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly showed a sharp pullback in the month of June, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday, with sales falling to their lowest level in seven months.
The report said new home sales tumbled 6.8 percent to an annual rate of 482,000 in June from the downwardly revised May rate of 517,000. The steep drop came as a surprise to economists, who had expected new home sales to edge up to 550,000 from the 546,000 originally reported for the previous month.
With the unexpected decrease, new home sales fell to their lowest annual rate since hitting 446,000 last November.
The Federal Reserve will conclude its 2-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday next week. Investors will be watching for any clues as to when the Fed plans to begin raising interest rates.
Meanwhile, officials from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund will meet in Athens today to start detailed discussions with the Greek government on a new bailout deal.
The dollar rose to a high of $1.0925 against the Euro early Friday, but has since pulled back to around $1.0975.
Eurozone consumer confidence deteriorated for a fourth straight month in July and at a faster-than-expected pace, preliminary estimates from the European Commission showed Thursday. The flash consumer confidence index dropped to -7.1 from -5.6 in June. Economists had forecast a score of -5.8.
Despite uncertain developments in Greece, Eurozone economic growth slowed only slightly in July as private sector activity rose at one of the strongest pace seen over the last four years, flash survey data from Markit Economics showed Friday. The Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 53.7 in July from June’s four-year high of 54.2. But, it remained slightly above the average seen over the first half of the year. The expected score was 54.
Germany’s private sector expanded at a slower pace in July, flash survey data from Markit Economics showed Friday. The flash composite output index fell to 53.4 in July from 53.7 in June.
The French private sector growth slowed to a three-month low in July, flash survey data from Markit Economics showed Friday. The composite output index fell to 51.5 in July from June’s 46-month high of 53.3.
The buck climbed to a high of $1.5466 against the pound sterling Friday morning, but has since eased back to around $1.5500.
British households perceive that the value of their home increased in July, a survey from Knight Frank and Markit Economics showed Friday. The house price sentiment index, or HPSI, dropped to 58.6 in July from 59.5 in the previous month.
U.K. mortgage approvals increased for the sixth straight month to a 15-month high in June and came in above economist expectations, data from the British Bankers’ Association showed Friday.
The number of mortgage approvals rose to a seasonally adjusted 44,488 in June from 42,876 in April. It was forecast to rise to 43,300. The latest figure was the highest since March 2014, when approvals totaled 45,574.
The greenback reached a high of Y124.094 against the Japanese Yen early Friday, but has since retreated to around Y123.730.
Japan’s manufacturing sector continued to grow in July and at an accelerated pace, the latest survey from Nikkei revealed on Friday, with a flash PMI score of 51.4. That represents a five-month high, and it easily beat forecasts for a score of 50.5.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com