National Association of Realtors reported today that the US pending home sales fell unexpectedly during the past month, which is the first monthly decline in 4 months.

The pending home sales index was down by 2.2% during September, lower than forecasts of a rise by over 3%.

Oil prices fell on Thursday, on concerns over the coronavirus crisis in some countries around the world, but prices managed to pare some losses in tandem with the rise of the US dollar against its peers.

Observers fear that global oil demand will weaken again, after some countries, such as France, reimposed the full public lockdown for a month, while in Germany a partial lockdown was imposed on restaurants and bars.

The US Energy Administration reported yesterday that inventories rose 4.3 million barrels during the past week, while the US crude output rose 1.2 million barrels per day to 11.1 million.

The dollar index rose against a basket of currencies by 0.7% to 94.07 points as of 18:11 GMT, after it hit a high of 94.1 and a low of 93.3.

As of 18:08 GMT, WTI crude September futures at Nymex fell 3.9% to $35.9 a barrel, after it hit a high of $37.7 and a low of $34.9.

Brent October futures fell 4.1% to $ 37.5 a barrel, with a high of $39.4 and a low of $36.6.

Gold futures closed lower on Thursday, deepening losses for the second straight day, as the US dollar rose against most of its major rivals, after the release of strong US economic data

The US Department of Labor reported today that the unemployment claims fell 40,000 to 751,000 during the past week.

While the advanced reading for the US GDP showed growth by 33.1% during the third quarter.

The dollar index rose against a basket of currencies by 0.7% to 94.03 points as of 19:40 GMT, after it hit a high of 94.1 and a low of 93.3.

Gold December futures fell 0.6% or $11.20, and closed at the lowest level since September 25 of $1,868 an ounce, with today's high at $1,885.1 and the low at $1,859.2.

The US dollar surged against most of its major rivals on Thursday, after the release of upbeat US economic data.

The US Department of Labor reported today that the unemployment claims fell 40,000 to 751,000 during the past week.

The advanced reading for the US GDP showed growth by 33.1% during the third quarter.

Major tech companies such as Apple, Google, and Facebook will report later today their business results for the third quarter.

Otherwise, the rising number of Covid-19 infections in the US and other countries, especially in Europe, has forced some governments to re-impose lockdown restrictions to curb the deadly pandemic.

The dollar index rose against a basket of currencies by 0.7% to 94.03 points as of 19:13 GMT, after it hit a high of 94.1 and a low of 93.3.