Hopes that bargain hunters might come to the rescue of the stricken US housing market rose on Monday when data showed that pending home sales unexpectedly increased by 6.3 per cent between March and April.

According to the National Association of Realtors, an index of pending home sales in the US rose to 88.2 in April – their highest reading since last October – from a record low of 83 in March. Economists were on average expecting a slight decline in the index.