Welcome to the Total Mortgage Current Mortgage Rates Blog. There’s some economic data out today, but first, your daily mortgage rate forecast/advice.
Click here to get today’s latest mortgage rates.
Where are mortgage rates going?
The DOW keeps getting closer to 20,000 as the FOMC begins their last meeting of 2016 today. Everyone is expecting the Fed to raise the benchmark federal funds rate a quarter point to 0.5%-0.75%. The Fed funds futures have it at a 95.4% chance right now. If you’re wondering how the federal funds rate affects mortgage rates, you might be reassured to know that it shouldn’t send rates sprawling higher. The markets have been expecting this move for well over a month now, and have already invested accordingly.
Of course, Janet Yellen does have the power to sway markets further depending on what she says tomorrow afternoon, but it’s unlikely that she will stray too far from expectations. Whether or not she will comment or answer any questions regarding President-elect Trump is up for debate. It would seem to be in her best interest to keep a tempered opinion, and I personally would not bet on her making any controversial statements. The whole event kicks off tomorrow with the release of the written FOMC statement at 2:00pm, followed by the Yellen press conference at 2:30pm.
What does this mean for me?
Mortgage rates are flat today as we head into the FOMC meeting. The long term trend still seems to be for higher rates. I think that it’s prudent at this point to wait and see what Janet Yellen says tomorrow, but I expect it will still make the most sense to lock in a rate sooner than later if you’re thinking about refinancing or purchasing a home.
Today’s economic data:
FOMC Meeting Starts
The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee begins its two day meeting on monetary policy today. The meeting will wrap up tomorrow with a Janet Yellen press conference.
NFIB Small Business Optimism Index
The NFIB index is at 98.4 for November–the highest reading since May 2015. That’s 3.5 points higher than the previous reading.
Import and Export Prices
Import prices dropped 0.3% in November, putting them at -0.1% year over year. Export prices fell 0.1%, putting them at -0.3% year over year.
Click here to get today’s latest mortgage rates.
Notable events this week:
Monday:
- Treasury Auctions
Tuesday:
- FOMC Meeting Starts
- NFIB Small Business Optimism Index
- Import and Export Prices
Wednesday:
- PPI-FD
- Retail Sales
- Industrial Production
- EIA Petroleum Status Report
- FOMC Meeting Ends/Janet Yellen Press Conference
Thursday:
- Consumer Price Index
- Jobless Claims
- Philly Fed Outlook
Friday:
- Housing Starts
from Total Mortgage Underwritings Blog http://ift.tt/2hJsYSd
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