U.S. new home sales fall slightly in May

Just call it "a wash" or a "do-over," to borrow a sand-lot baseball phrase. New home sales were essentially unchanged in May, they dipped 0.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 342,000, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Wednesday, as home builders continued to reduce inventories of unsold homes (pdf).

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected May new home sales to total a 365,000 annualized rate. Sales totaled a revised 344,000 annual rate in April.