US: New home sales rise 3.5% in June

New home sales rose 3.5% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 592,000, the US Commerce Department said Tuesday. That was the strongest reading since February 2008.

Expectations were for a more modest increase of 1.1% to 557,000. Meanwhile, May sales were upwardly revised to a 572,000 annual rate from 551,000 previously estimated. Over the year, new home sales rose 25.4%