Mortgage rates are up a little today as the Federal Open Market Committee begins their two-day meeting. Rates will likely stay in a holding pattern until the Fed concludes their meeting with a written statement tomorrow at 2:00pm.
Long-term rates are still expected to rise, so we’re continuing to recommend that borrowers take action on a purchase or refinance sooner rather than later. Read on for more details.
Where are mortgage rates going?
Rates higher as Fed meeting begins
Here we go with day two of a very busy week on the political and economic front. It’s a big day here in the U.S. as the Federal Open Market Committee begins their two-day meeting on monetary policy.
Tomorrow, the meeting will end with a written statement and a post-meeting press conference with Fed Chair, Jerome Powell. The decision from the Fed that is widely expected (94.4% chance according to the CME Group’s Fed Fund futures) to come down tomorrow at 2:00pm is a quarter-point increase to the nation’s benchmark interest rate–the federal funds rate.
That would bring the target range up to 1.50%-1.75%. With the rate hike a virtual lock, financial market participants are more interested in the lesser-known outcomes, such as how the Fed will adjust their current economic outlook.
A big question on investors’ minds is will they forecast more than three rate hikes for the rest of 2018. At this time, it definitely seems like a hard pass.
We were getting some strong inflation readings for a while there in February, but recent inflation reports have tempered those expectations. Now, it’s looking like the Fed will stick to their current, cautious approach.
At these sort events, the biggest market reaction occurs when the outcome goes against market expectations. So at this meeting the largest swing would happen if the Fed came out with a very aggressive, thinking about raising rates four times type of message.
It’s unlikely, but that would certainly send financial market participants into a tizzy and put some serious upward pressure on mortgage rates.
| [contentbox id=”10″] |
Rate/Float Recommendation
Lock now before rates move higher
Mortgage rates are up slightly right now. They will most likely stay at current levels until tomorrow afternoon when the Fed comes out with their updated written statement.
After that, we will almost certainly get a rate adjustment, so it’s important to keep an eye on your eye on the market tomorrow. With rates still expected to rise substantially by the time 2019 rolls around, we believe that most borrowers will get the better deal by locking in a rate soon.
Learn what you can do to get the best interest rate possible.
Today’s economic data:
FOMC Meeting Begins
- The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee kicks off their two-day meeting today.
[contentbox id=”8″]
Notable events this week:
Monday:
- Fedspeak
Tuesday:
- FOMC Meeting Begins
Wednesday:
- Existing Home Sales
- EIA Petroleum Status Report
- FOMC Meeting Announcement and Press Conference
Thursday:
- Jobless Claims
- FHFA House Price Index
- PMI Composite Flash
Friday:
- Fedspeak
- Durable Goods
- New Home Sales
[contentbox id=”3″]
from Total Mortgage Blog http://ift.tt/2DHdOHm
No comments:
Post a Comment