Last Week's Mortgage Rate Recap: Rates ended unchanged
Despite clickbait headlines, mortgage rates have barely moved in recent weeks. Other than the normal talk surrounding tariffs and trade deals, nothing significant affected rates last week.
This Week's Mortgage Rate Forecast: Rates could be volatile
This week is jam packed with data and events that could move rates, even prompting lenders to reprice during the day. Loans closing soon should be cautious, while loans with time are likely to see rates settle down again after this week.
What’s affecting rates this week:
- Labor data: Reports on job openings, private payrolls, unemployment claims, and Friday's BLS jobs data featuring new job creations and unemployment numbers could cause volatility for mortgage rates. Signs of a softening labor market could help rates, while labor market strength could push rates higher.
- The Fed: The Fed meeting ends Wednesday with no policy rate cut expected. Fed Chair Powell's press conference following the Fed policy statement has a high likelihood of causing volatility for mortgage rates.
- Economic data: Several reports this week, and strong economic data could pressure rates higher while weak data may help bring rates down a bit.