Happy Halloween! Financial market participants are still eagerly awaiting President Trump’s decision on the next chair of the Federal Reserve, and are therefore staying away from any big adjustments to their positions. That’s keeping mortgage rates fairly flat as we ease into the week. Read on for more details.
Where are mortgage rates going?
Rates flat today
After sliding down a few basis points yesterday, mortgage rates are flat today. The big news of the week is set to come on Thursday when President Trump will announce his nomination for the next chair of the Federal Reserve.
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The current fed chair, Janet Yellen, will see her term end in February (unless somehow Trump throws a curve ball and reappoints her). Yesterday, all the news outlets were reporting that Fed Governor Jerome Powell is the President’s top choice for the job, but he is by no means a lock.
The other front-runner appears to be Stanford Economics Professor John Taylor, who is a proponent of rule based policy which would translate into much higher interest rates right now.
Financial market participants have been meticulously watching the job search and we’ve seen market reactions after even the slightest news breaks on the candidates.
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The end is near, though, and that will almost certainly mean a significant market adjustment on Thursday once we get the final decision. At this point, the biggest reaction would happen if Trump selects someone other than Powell.
That’s who everyone is banking on right now, and there would be some definite position changes if someone else got the nod. If John Taylor somehow manages to get the job we would likely see mortgage rates jump higher.
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Rate/Float Recommendation
Lock in your rate
Mortgage rates are flat as investors anticipate the decision over the next Fed chair. Given that mortgage rates are expected to rise over the long-term (and that we could see a jump in the near-term once the decision happens on Thursday), we’re recommending that anyone looking to purchase or refinance locks in their rate sooner rather than later.
Click here to head to our Mortgage Builder and figure out how much you could save.
Today’s economic data:
FOMC Meeting Begins
The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee begins their two-day meeting today.
S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller HPI
The 20-city seasonally adjusted index rose 0.5% in August. The 20-city non-seasonally adjusted index rose 0.4% in August, putting the year over year rate at 5.9%.
Chicago PMI
The Chicago PMI ticked up to 66.2 in October. That’s a rise of 4.2 from the prior reading and even outside of the consensus range.
Consumer Confidence
Consumer confidence came in at 125.9 for October.
Notable events this week:
Monday:
- Personal Income and Outlays
- Dallas Fed Mfg Survey
Tuesday:
- FOMC Meeting Begins
- S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller HPI
- Chicago PMI
- Consumer Confidence
Wednesday:
- ADP Employment Report
- PMI Manufacturing Index
- ISM Mfg Index
- Construction Spending
- EIA Petroleum Status Report
- FOMC Meeting Announcement
Thursday:
- Jobless Claims
- Productivity and Costs
- Fedspeak
Friday:
- Monthly Jobs Report
- International Trade
- PMI Services Index
- Factory Orders
- ISM Non-Mfg Index
- Fedspeak
Contact us today to see if we can save you money on your home payments.
from Total Mortgage Blog http://ift.tt/2ij6GIU
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