US: Pending Home Sales decline by 2.7% in May vs. 0.2% expected

• Pending Home Sales in the US unexpectedly fell in May.
• US Dollar Index holds in positive territory, moves off highs. 

Pending Home Sales in the US declined by 2.7% on a monthly basis in May, the data published by the National Association of Realtors showed on Thursday. This reading followed April’s 0.4% slide (revised from 0) and came in worse than the market expectation for an increase of 0.2%. “Month over month, contract signings decreased in three U.S. regions but jumped in the Northeast”, said NAR in the report. 

On a yearly basis, Pending Home Sales fell by 22.2%, compared to analysts' estimate for a decline of 21.9%.

Market reaction

The US Dollar Index is up on Thursday, trading above 103.00. It spiked following US Q1 GDP and Jobless Claims data and recently pulled back, trimming gains.