US new home sales at 13-year low.

Sales of new US homes fell 2.8% in January to the lowest rate in almost 13 years, official figures have shown.

The Commerce Department said sales fell to an annual pace of just 588,000 last month, indicating that the housing market slump is continuing.

This was a decline from an annual pace of 605,000 in December, and the third monthly fall in succession.

The Commerce Department added that the average price of a new home fell 15.1% in January to $216,000 (£109,000).

Its latest snapshot of the US housing market was worse than market expectations.