The U.S. dollar extended its gains Wednesday against the euro, after the U.S. government reported a strong rise in new home sales. The euro bought US$1.2917 in morning European trading, down from US$1.2974 in New York late Tuesday. The British pound fell to US$1.9006 from US$1.9055. The dollar was also up against the Japanese yen, climbing to 106.17 yen from 105.93 yen. On Tuesday, the U.S. Commerce Department said new single-family homes were sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.43 million units in March, confounding the consensus forecast of a small decline in sales in a month when mortgage rates had inched higher. The yen, boosted by weekend speculation over a possible revaluation of China's currency that could lift other Asian currencies, has declined this week as expectations have deflated that any change will come soon.