U.S. New Home Sales Pull Back Much More Than Expected In April

(RTTNews) - After reporting a sharp increase in new home sales in the U.S. in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing new home sales pulled back by much more than expected in the month of April.

The Commerce Department said new home sales plunged by 6.2 percent to an annual rate of 622,000 in April after surging by 3.4 percent to a revised rate of 663,000 in March.

Economists had expected new home sales to tumble by 2.9 percent to an annual rate of 662,000 from the 682,000 originally reported for the previous month.