After rising yesterday, mortgage rates are on the decline today due to increased trade tensions between China and the U.S. President Trump is expected to reveal tariffs on a variety of Chinese imports later today and the expectation is for China to respond with their own tariffs. Read on for more details.
Where are mortgage rates going?
Rates fall on trade war concerns
The big news yesterday was the Federal Reserve raising the nation’s benchmark interest rate–the federal funds rate–by a quarter basis point up to 1.50%-1.75%.
The Fed also reiterated their position that a total of three rate hikes in 2018 will be necessary, and even more notable was the fact that the number of FOMC members that felt four rate hikes are needed crept up from the prior meeting’s four to seven.
Financial market participants had been largely anticipating a somewhat more cautious tone from the Fed, and while that did happen, the increase in aggressive sentiment is what investors were most moved by.
We saw the yield on the 10-year Treasury note (the best market indicator of where mortgage rates are going) move up during early trading yesterday ahead of the announcement and those levels were held for most of the day once the news broke.
The yield did retreat by a couple basis points but still held close to a one month high. That brings us to today, when the 10-year yield is down about eight basis points to 2.80%. That’s a full tenth of a point lower from yesterday’s high of 2.90%.
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Rate/Float Recommendation
Lock now while rates are down
Mortgage rates are way down today. It’s certainly been a roller-coaster ride the past 24 hours for anyone who has been following along with the news-cycle.
With rates down, right now is the perfect time to lock in a rate on a purchase or refinance. It only takes a couple minutes online to get started or a quick phone call to a loan officer to find out what your options are.
As the Fed made clear yesterday, interest rates, and subsequently, mortgage rates are going to rise throughout 2018. This means that anyone looking to buy or refinance will likely get the better deal by locking in a rate sooner rather than later.
Learn what you can do to get the best interest rate possible.
Today’s economic data:
Jobless Claims
Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits ticked up to 229,000 for the week of 3/17/18.
FHFA House Price Index
The FHFA House Price Index moved up 0.8% in January. That puts the year over year change at 7.3%.
PMI Composite Flash
Manufacturing PMI ticked up to 55.7 in March. Services moved a little lower down to 54.1, and the composite reading also moved lower to 54.3. Overall, it’s not quite as strong a report as analysts had expected.
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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
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from Total Mortgage Blog http://ift.tt/2DKWjpS
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