Mortgage Rates Tick Up After Fed Hints at Moves

Mortgage rates ticked up this week, in reaction to hints from the Federal Reserve that they may tighten monetary policy.

Wednesday’s release of the Fed’s April meeting notes showed that some meeting participants suggested that the central bank could begin to discuss tapering their program of asset purchases – which has placed consistent downward pressure on mortgage rates – should the economy continue to “make rapid progress toward the Committee’s goals.” While this language is far from a commitment to a policy shift, and appeared to reiterate previous comments from the central bank, the statement did spark a modest selloff in bonds, pushing mortgage rates to their highest level in about a month. Mortgage rates are still very low by historical standards, but their path forward is quite uncertain. Markets will surely be keeping a close eye on any signals that the Fed may be closer to tightening policy – which in previous recessions has sparked a strong increase in rates.

With a relatively light week of economic data upcoming, comments from Fed Presidents in the coming days should offer crucial insight into the central bank’s plans and could result in more volatility for mortgage rates.

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