Mortgage rates continued their march upward last week as positive economic data handed the Fed plenty of space to attack inflation in the near future. While the ISM Manufacturing Index slipped slightly, other data points remained positive. Monthly unemployment numbers revealed another drop in the unemployment rate and 431,000 new jobs created last month, with another 72,000 added to February’s total. With little to worry about on the labor side of the Federal Reserve’s mandate, the Fed appears very free to attack unrelenting price pressures. Experts are predicting that the Fed will raise rates at every meeting this year, with the potential of more than one half-point rate increase. This week’s release of the minutes from the last Fed meeting may provide some useful insights. If we see hints that Fed members believe that we need to “hit the brakes hard,” rates could move upward. However, if the market continues to perceive that releasing oil from the strategic reserve will help slow inflation, we might see interest rates slowing their climb or maybe even flattening out. - Shea Oliver, MyProNewsletter
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