US DATA: June NAR Pending Home Sales Index -1.4% to 99.3 vs 100.7r
in May; but it is +9.5% YOY and NAR blames inventory shortages that mean
fewer contract signings in recent months. PHSI in the Northeast fell 7.6
percent to 76.6 in June but is 12.2 percent higher than a year ago. In
the Midwest the index slipped 0.4 percent to 94.4 in June but is 17.3
percent above June 2011. Pending home sales in the South declined 2.0
percent to an index of 106.2 in June but are 8.8 percent above a year
earlier. In the West the index rose 2.6 percent in June to 111.5 and is
3.0 percent higher than June 2011.