US pending home sales rise for first time in three months

US pending home sales rose in June for the first time in the last three months, according to the National Association of Realtors, driven by an improvement in supply and a slight moderation in mortgage rates.

The pending home sales index surged 4.8% month-on-month in June to 74.3, ahead of expectations for a 1.5% increase. On an annualised basis, pending home sales were down 2.6%.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com