New home sales increased in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 490,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Analysts were anticipating rate of 507,000. That was the highest in three months. November’s tally was up 4.3% from a revised 470,000 rate in October. Sales were 9.1% higher compared to a year ago.
Separate report showed that confidence ended the year on a brighter note as low prices put U.S. consumers in the holiday spirit. The University of Michigan said Wednesday that its final sentiment index for the month climbed to 92.6, the highest since July, from 91.3 in November. The median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a reading of 92 after December’s preliminary figure of 91.8.
Euro is currently being traded few points above 1.09 level, Sterling is around 1.4880 handle, while Aussie is above 0.7220 area.