International Developments Push Mortgage Rates Down from Recent Highs

Mortgage rates have fallen in recent days, retreating after a streak of upward movements.

International and pandemic-driven developments outweighed the impact of any domestic economic data releases this week. An abrupt change to Turkey’s central bank leadership introduced new risk to financial markets, and some European countries’ reimposition of lockdowns to combat surges in COVID-19 cases introduced some doubt about the viability of the global economy’s recovery efforts. The developments led investors to seek out the haven of Treasuries, pushing yields – and mortgage rates -- downward as a result.

While the pullback in rates was a welcome reprieve from the persistent increases over the past couple months, it’s unclear how long it will last. In the past several weeks, there have been more than a few occasions in which rates have paused their upward movement only to quickly resume it. With the U.S. economy continuing to show signs of improvement, upward pressure on rates is sure to remain.

n