The dollar is currently turning in a mixed performance against its major competitors Wednesday. The U.S. currency is nearly unchanged compared to the Euro, is down against the pound sterling and is up against the Japanese Yen.
Existing home sales in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of March, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Wednesday, with existing home sales jumping to their highest rate in eighteen months.
NAR said existing home sales surged up 6.1 percent to an annual rate of 5.19 million in March after rising 1.5 percent to a revised 4.89 million in February. Economists had expected existing home sales to climb to a rate of 5.05 million from the 4.88 million originally reported for the previous month.
Investors can look forward to a few more important pieces of economic data in the next few days. New home sales are slated for Thursday, as well as weekly jobless claims. Durable goods orders will be released at the end of the week.
Investors were pleased by some signs of progress in Greece today. European Central Bank Executive Board Member Benoit Coeure said that Greece exiting the euro area was not a consideration and urged the Greek authorities to take decisive action.
In an interview to the Greek daily Kathimerini, text of which was published on the ECB website, Coeure said, “It is out of the question to speculate about such a scenario. The euro area needs Greece just as Greece needs the euro.”
Saying that “an overwhelming majority of the Greek population want to keep the euro”, he urged the Greek government to take the appropriate steps to ensure that its policies are in line with public’s clear references.
The ECB will continue to offer liquidity to the Greek banks as long as they remain solvent and have adequate collateral, as is the case currently, the policymaker said.
The policymaker also noted tangible progress in the talks between Greece and the troika of lenders – the ECB, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund.
Greece’s Deputy Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas said today that state coffers are 350-400 million euros short and the government will need extra funds to make wage and pension payments at the end of April.
Greece will reach a pact with international lenders, although this may not happen at the April 24 meeting of euro zone finance ministers, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Tuesday, citing signs of “clear convergence” in the negotiations.
The dollar fell to a low of $1.0800 against the Euro Wednesday morning, but has since bounced back to around $1.0730, nearly unchanged for the session.
Eurozone consumer confidence deteriorated for the first time in five months in April, defying expectations for further strengthening, as the uncertainty on Greece lingers, preliminary data from the European Commission showed Wednesday. The flash consumer confidence index dropped to -4.6 from -3.7 in March, which was the highest score since July 2007. Economists had predicted a higher score of -2.5 for April.
The leading index for Germany, which measures the future economic activity, increased at a stable pace in February, figures from the Conference Board showed Tuesday. The leading economic index climbed 0.4 percent in February, the same rate of rise as in the previous month. It was the fourth consecutive monthly increase.
Bank of England policymakers have noted the signs of strengthening of the euro area, which could benefit the UK economy in the long run, and the domestic inflation is expected to pick up faster later on after remaining negative in the coming months.
“All Committee members agreed that it was appropriate to leave the stance of monetary policy unchanged at this meeting, although two members regarded this month’s decision as finely balanced,” the minutes of the April 8-9 meeting said Wednesday.
“There was a range of views over the most likely future path of Bank Rate, but all members agreed that it was more likely than not that Bank Rate would rise over the three-year forecast period.”
The buck dropped to a 1-month low of $1.5079 against the pound sterling Wednesday, but has risen back to around $1.5045 this afternoon.
UK households’ finance outlook remained positive for the seventh straight month in April and their financial woes eased to the weakest seen for over six years, underpinned by lower inflation perceptions and improved market conditions, results of a survey by Markit Economics and financial information provider Ipsos Mori revealed Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted Markit Household Finance Index, which measures overall perceptions of financial well being and aims to track consumer behavior, rose to 45.8 in April from 45.5 in the previous month.
The greenback slipped to an early low of Y119.342 against the Japanese Yen Wednesday, but has rebounded to Y119.860 this afternoon.
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