Industry News

This week was packed with major economic news highlighted by Wednesday’s Fed meeting and Friday’s Employment report. The result was a lot of volatility, but the various influences were offsetting, and mortgage rates ended the week nearly unchanged. As expected, the Fed made no change to the federal funds rate. The statement released after the […]

The big news this week was Friday’s GDP report, and it was favorable for mortgage rates. As a result, rates ended a little lower, ahead of several major economic releases next week. While the headline figure for first quarter GDP, the broadest measure of economic growth, was much stronger than expected, mortgage rates declined after […]

Despite unexpected strength in consumer spending, Thursday’s report on retail sales caused little reaction. Beyond that, major economic news was scarce this week, and mortgage rates ended nearly unchanged. Since consumer spending accounts for about 70% of all economic activity in the U.S., the retail sales data is a closely watched indicator of growth each […]

Most investors expect moderate U.S. economic growth this year, some degree of weakness in other regions, and continued low levels of inflation. This week’s news did little to alter their outlook, and mortgage rates ended slightly higher. Wednesday’s release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a widely followed monthly inflation report that looks at the […]

Although investors had a wide range of major U.S. data and geopolitical events to track this week, the economic news generally did not cause much reaction in mortgage markets. After falling to the lowest levels in over a year, rates ended the week a little higher. A slowdown in the pace of wage growth offset […]

It was a light week for economic news with few surprises, and mortgage rates ended nearly unchanged. One big reason that mortgage rates have improved in recent weeks, and that the Fed has shifted toward looser monetary policy, is that inflation has held steady. Despite a very tight labor market by historical standards, wage growth […]

Despite a series of Brexit votes in the UK this week, little progress was made, and the uncertainty was modestly favorable for mortgage rates. Weaker than expected inflation data also was positive, and rates ended the week lower. During an otherwise routine week, investors were drawn to a series of events unfolding in the UK […]

A dovish message from the European Central Bank was favorable for mortgage rates this week, while the major U.S. economic data had little net impact, and rates ended the week lower. In recent weeks, there have been substantial downgrades to the growth forecast for Europe from a wide range of sources. With this in mind […]

During a light week for economic data, investors were mostly focused on the Fed minutes and the trade talks. There were few surprises on any front, though, and mortgage rates ended nearly unchanged. The most significant economic report released this week was the report on existing home sales, and it was modestly disappointing. In January, […]

Weaker than expected retail sales data was offset by progress on a government funding agreement this week, and mortgage rates ended nearly unchanged. Consumer spending accounts for about 70% of all economic activity in the U.S., so the retail sales data is a key indicator of growth. The report for the important holiday shopping period […]