No Foolin': Mortgage Rates Begin April on the Rise

Mortgage rates rose this week, bouncing back from the steep declines that took rates to their lowest levels in over a year.

Last week mortgage rates retreated sharply, movements that were guided by growing concerns about slowing global economic growth. Those worries were at least temporarily alleviated this week by encouraging economic data from overseas, which drove the recovery in rates.

The outlook for the Chinese economy has been a sore spot for economic forecasters in recent weeks, but promising Chinese manufacturing and services sector data released this week helped ease those concerns, at least for now. The German economy – the Eurozone’s largest – also showed some encouraging signs this week, although its slowing manufacturing sector continues to act as a headwind.

The promising outlook decreased the demand for safer assets and pushed mortgage rates upward.

These developments were also encouraging enough to offset a disappointing reading of U.S. private payrolls and service sector growth, released Wednesday. The labor market has been a bastion of strength in the U.S. economy amid rising concerns in other areas, so all eyes will be on Friday’s all-important jobs report. Despite Wednesday’s tepid numbers, markets still expect a strong report on Friday, in which case more upward movement in mortgage rates could be on the way.