Market Comment

Mortgage bond prices rose last week pushing mortgage interest rates lower. Oil prices fell the first portion of the week, which helped bonds rally. Unfortunately, some pipeline shutdowns ignited inflation fears Thursday and Friday causing bond prices to fall and rates to rise, erasing a lot of the earlier improvements. Stocks remained volatile with some optimism despite data that showed the economy continued to struggle.

For the week, interest rates on government and conventional loans fell by about 3/8 of a discount point.

The Fed meeting Wednesday will be the most important event this week. Look for reactions to the data prior to the meeting to be heightened. The post-meeting data releases the later portion of the week may result in slightly diminished reactions but still have the potential to cause mortgage interest rate volatility.

Mortgage Market in Review

Week of April 28, 2008 Volume 15, Issue 18

Fed Focus

The Fed has been walking a delicate line of trying to stimulate the economy without stoking inflation too much. Unfortunately the Fed is faced with continued signs of economic weakness amid rising price pressures. Most analysts believe the Fed’s biggest worry is the stumbling economy and will therefore cut rates again this week by 25 basis points. People often hear that the Fed is cutting rates and believe that mortgage interest rates will follow suit. This is usually not the case in the short-term as recent history shows. Mortgage interest rates have spiked higher following most of the recent rate cuts.

set in stone and reactions can vary, floating into the Fed meeting is risky. The Federal Reserve has direct control over the level of short-term interest rates. The Fed’s influence over longer-term interest rates is less certain. A cautious approach to float/lock decisions is prudent heading into the Fed meeting this week.