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Interest Rates This Week
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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Fed stepped-up last week on Tuesday by releasing minutes
from the FOMC meeting which contained data relative to inflationary pressures at
the consumer level of our economy. Additionally, Mr. Alan Greenspan, chairman,
spoke to analysts openly. All of this added up to one unpredictable week as far
as mortgage rates
are concerned.
Tuesday's meeting immediately rallied the stock market, and the trend stayed
through Friday. This, along with initial woes in the stock market made a good
week for rates. The
30 year
fixed-rate mortgage average dropped a few percentage points for the second
straight week in a row.
As far as this week is concerned, rates will be the most unpredictable yet this
year. This is largely based upon the Fed's two favorite measures of inflation,
the Producer Price Index (PPI) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI), both of which
will have data released this week which could swing the market in either
direction.
If the two reports show that inflation is indeed under control, you may expect
the Bond market to continue its rally, forcing interest rates for homes to slide
downward for the 3rd straight week.
On the flip side: If there is information in either report showing that
inflation is increasing we may expect mortgage rates to level-out or rise
slightly.
Below is the Fed economic calendar for this week:
|
Date |
Release
|
For Period |
|
April 19 |
PPI |
Mar |
|
April 19 |
Core PPI |
Mar |
|
April 19 |
Housing Starts |
Mar |
|
April 19 |
Building Permits |
Mar |
|
April 20 |
CPI |
Mar |
|
April 20 |
Core CPI |
Mar |
|
April 21 |
Jobless Claims |
04/16 |
|
April 21 |
Leading Indicators |
Mar |
|
April 21 |
Philadelphia Fed |
Apr |
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