The US Dollar has strengthened against the Pound but is little changed against the majority of peers after data showed that new home sales in the US hit a five-year high and prices soared.
According to data compiled by the Washington based Commerce Department, sales of new single family homes leapt to a five year high in June and shows little signs of making a slowdown despite higher mortgage rates.
Wednesday’s data shows that sales increased by 8.3% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 497,000 units, the highest level since May 2008. In the previous month sales increased by 1.3%, compared with the same time last year sales soared by 38.1%, the largest increase since January 1992.
The rise is the third consecutive month of gains in new home sales suggesting that the housing market is gaining in strength, and will allay fears that higher mortgages would slow down momentum. The data is also likely to counter data released earlier in the week that suggested that the US housing sector was slowing down.
Also supporting the currency was the release of flash manufacturing PMI data which hit its highest level in four months, rising to a 53.2 reading in July, up from the previous months reading of 51.9.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, the group that released the data said; “The pace of manufacturing growth nevertheless remains well below that seen at the start of the year, in part reflecting weaker demand from many export markets, notably China and other emerging economies. Employment growth is disappointingly weak as a result, as firms focus on cost cutting to boost competitiveness.”
The data is likely to increase speculation that the Federal Reserve could ease its tapering policy if data continues to show improvement in the jobs sector and housing market.
Current US Dollar (USD) Exchange Rates
The US Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6506
The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7554
The US Dollar/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0863
The US Dollar/Japanese Yen Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 99.9634
The US Dollar/Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0306
(Correct as of 15:45 pm GMT)
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