The GBP to USD exchange rate softened on Friday afternoon after data released in the USA showed that the number of new homes sold in the world’s largest economy increased more than forecast in April.
The US Dollar made gains against several major peers after data released by the Census Bureau showed that new home sales in the US increased by 6.4% to 433,000 in April, up from the 407,000 sold in March and above economist forecast for a figure of 425,000.
The strongest sales were recorded in the Midwest of the country and climbed higher in the south. Sales remained flat in the west and edged lower in the east.
In February sales of new homes tumbled by 4.4% as the market was deeply impacted by extreme winter weather which brought snowstorms across much of the US.
The data fuelled further optimism over the recovery of the U.S. housing market after the National Association of Realtors on Thursday said existing home sales increased 1.3% in April to an annual rate of 4.65 million units.
The housing market has been aided by falling borrowing costs and better job opportunities. Now economists believe that the sector has made a turnaround.
“We definitely are seeing a rebound in activity. We are in the middle of the home-buying season and should start to see a bit more pickup with more traditional buyers coming into the market,” said a senior economist from Wells Fargo Securities LLC.
With the UK and US markets both closed next Monday the currency pair is likely to see little movement over the weekend.
US Dollar (USD) Exchange Rates
[table width=”100%” colwidth=”50|50|50|50|50″ colalign=”left|left|left|left|left”]
Currency, ,Currency,Rate ,
US Dollar,
,Pound Sterling,0.5940 ,
US Dollar,,Euro,0.7337 ,
US Dollar,,Canadian Dollar,1.0878 ,
US Dollar,,Australian Dollar,1.0834 ,
Pound Sterling,,US Dollar,1.6838 ,
Euro,,US Dollar,1.3631 ,
[/table]
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