Rate Watch
Mortgage Rates Fall on Poor Employment Numbers
It was another volatile week in the mortgage markets. However rates finally finished down on Friday, after poor job data in the March Employment Report. The economy lost 80,000 jobs in the month of March. This number was 30,000 jobs off Wall Street's consensus estimate. The Unemployment Rate is now down to 5.1%, which is the highest rate since September 2005. In addition to the poor March numbers, both January and February were revised downward to 54,000 and 13,000 respectively. All this bad news helped to push the stock market down, and investors fled to the relative safety of the mortgage and bond markets.
This morning, Bankrate.com's overnight average on the 30-year fixed rate mortgage came in at 5.65%, down from last Monday's 5.75%. Other products followed. The 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 5.23%, down from last week's 5.27%. And the 5-year Adjustable Rate Mortgage dropped to 5.43%, down from 5.67%.
With a little data on the economic calendar this week, the markets may begin to focus on the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting on May 9th. The markets could look for clues into the likelihood of future Federal Fund cuts. Some of these clues will be provided in the minutes from their most recent meeting, which are scheduled to be released on Tuesday. Also, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to speak on Wednesday and Thursday. His comments could provide further evidence of the Fed's next move. If it is shown that the Fed might be open to additional cuts, mortgage rates may move for the better this week. However, if it is perceived that the Fed Governors have no interest in cutting rates any further, it could force interest rates back up. It could be another rocky week.
It was another volatile week in the mortgage markets. However rates finally finished down on Friday, after poor job data in the March Employment Report. The economy lost 80,000 jobs in the month of March. This number was 30,000 jobs off Wall Street's consensus estimate. The Unemployment Rate is now down to 5.1%, which is the highest rate since September 2005. In addition to the poor March numbers, both January and February were revised downward to 54,000 and 13,000 respectively. All this bad news helped to push the stock market down, and investors fled to the relative safety of the mortgage and bond markets.
This morning, Bankrate.com's overnight average on the 30-year fixed rate mortgage came in at 5.65%, down from last Monday's 5.75%. Other products followed. The 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 5.23%, down from last week's 5.27%. And the 5-year Adjustable Rate Mortgage dropped to 5.43%, down from 5.67%.
With a little data on the economic calendar this week, the markets may begin to focus on the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting on May 9th. The markets could look for clues into the likelihood of future Federal Fund cuts. Some of these clues will be provided in the minutes from their most recent meeting, which are scheduled to be released on Tuesday. Also, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to speak on Wednesday and Thursday. His comments could provide further evidence of the Fed's next move. If it is shown that the Fed might be open to additional cuts, mortgage rates may move for the better this week. However, if it is perceived that the Fed Governors have no interest in cutting rates any further, it could force interest rates back up. It could be another rocky week.
posted by Vincent Biondillo @ 3:44 PM
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