US new home sales jump in April, prices rise

According to the US Department of Commerce, new home sales jumped at a month-on-month pace of 9.6% in March to reach 683,000.

Economists had forecast a dip to 632,000.

The previous month's pace of sales on the other hand was revised down from a preliminary estimate of 640,000 to 623,000.

Home prices also rose from $433,200 to $449,800 on a median basis and from $501,800 to $562,400 on an average basis.

The inventory of homes available for sale meanwhile continued to decline, from the 8.4 months' worth of sales in February to 7.6 for March.

-- More to follow --