Welcome to the Total Mortgage Current Mortgage Rates Blog. Here’s your daily mortgage rate forecast/advice.
Where are mortgage rates going?
The U.S. markets are closed today in observance of Presidents’ Day. The rest of the week is fairly standard with a variety of economic data and speaking engagements from several Federal Reserve officials. The FOMC minutes from their meeting three weeks ago will be released on Wednesday. There is always the potential for the language in that report to influence the direction of the markets.
With Fed Chair Janet Yellen keeping a March rate hike in play, the scales could be tipped further if we find out that there was more of a debate during the last meeting than was previously thought. On the other hand, if the minutes don’t contain any tantalizing details then it’s unlikely to have much of an effect on the markets. As for the Fedspeak this week, the path is set for officials to echo what Janet Yellen said last week.
Click here to get today’s latest mortgage rates (Feb. 20, 2017).While Fed officials might be talking about raising the federal funds rate in March, investors are still extremely skeptical that it will actually happen. The Fed Funds futures, which reflects market sentiment towards upcoming FOMC decisions, currently has the likelihood of a March rate hike at 17.7%. That’s up from where it was a couple weeks ago, but it certainly does not provide an optimistic picture.
The next meeting with more than a 50% chance is in June. That’s been the surest contender for quite some time now, and in my opinion, is the earliest we should expect a rate hike to happen.
In the meantime, the markets and mortgage rates continue to experience volatility due to economic data and news coming out from the White House. It’s hard to say whether rates will be up or down come Friday, but whichever way they go, I don’t expect them to sway too far from current levels.
Click here to get today’s latest mortgage rates (Feb. 20, 2017).What does this mean for me?
Mortgage rates are still at very low levels historically. If you are looking to refinance your current mortgage or lock in a rate on a purchase, I don’t see any reason why you should wait.
Today’s economic data:
- Nothing
Notable events this week:
Monday:
- Markets Closed for President’s Day.
Tuesday:
- Fedspeak
- PMI Manufacturing Index
Wednesday:
- Existing Home Sales
- Fedspeak
- FOMC Minutes
Thursday:
- Jobless Claims
- Fedspeak
- EIA Petroleum Status
Friday:
- New Home Sales
- Consumer Sentiment
from Total Mortgage Underwritings Blog http://ift.tt/2kZPzfm
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