By CountingPips.com
New Home Sales in the United States decreased more than expected for the month of January according to data released by the Department of Commerce today. Purchases of new single family homes fell to an annual rate of 309,000 in January for a 11.2 percent decline from December. Revised data showed that new home sales decreased in December by 3.9 percent to an annual rate of 348,000 homes. On an annual basis, January’s rate of new homes sold was 6.1 
percent lower than the January 2009 level.
Today’s sales data failed to match market forecasts which were expecting a 3.5 percent increase in sales for an annual rate of 354,000 new homes sold.
Contributing to the decrease in December was a 35 percent drop in new homes sold in the the Northeast while the West registered a 12 percent decline in sales. Sales in the South fell by 10 percent while the Midwest saw an increase by 2.1 percent from December to January.
US Dollar mixed in Forex Trading
The U.S. dollar has been mixed in forex trading today against the other major currencies after the new home sales report and the Federal Reserve’s Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress today. The Fed report provided anticipation in the markets for any new hint of when interest rates might move. The Fed statement put to rest much of any rate hiking speculation with the usual line that rates are “likely to remain exceptionally low for an extended period”.
The dollar lost ground during the Fed’s congressional meeting but has managed to pare some of those losses later while U.S. stock markets were pushed higher. Overall today, the dollar has gained today versus the British pound and the New Zealand dollar while falling against the euro and the Swiss franc, according to currency data by Oanda at 2:55 pm EST. The dollar, despite early ups and downs, is currently trading virtually unchanged versus the Canadian dollar, Japanese yen and the Australian dollar compared to today’s opening day rates.
The U.S. stock markets have stayed positive today with the Dow Jones gaining by over 60 points, the Nasdaq increasing over 15 points and the S&P 500 up by just under 8 point at time of writing. Oil has edged higher by $1.00 to $79.86 while gold is about unchanged at the $1,102.70 per ounce level.
