Biggest Drop in 18 Years

The dollar fell and treasury yields declined on news that existing-home sales sank 8.4% in March, their steepest drop since January 1989, on poor demand hampered by bad weather. The National Association of Realtors reported that March sales came in at 6.12 million, shy of economists' expectations of 6.5 million. The decline follows a 3.7% rise in February. March sales were down 11.3% from the year-ago period. The median home price in March dropped 0.3% from a year ago to $217,000, while inventories rose to 7.3 months of supply from 6.8 months in February. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index declined to to 104, its lowest level in eight months, from 108.2. "The housing downturn is now weighing increasingly heavily on the U.S. economy," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. It is "starting to have an impact on consumers' psyche and also their spending. The second quarter is going to be no better than the first.'' The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.61% from 4.64% yesterday, while the dollar fell 0.3% against the euro to $1.3621.

(Source: Seeking Alpha)