(Courtesy of Joe Massey, Castle & Cooke Mortgage)

 

Mortgage rates continued marching upward last week. even with economic news continuing to show the same weak growth potential that we've experienced for a very long time. The respected ISM Indices revealed that manufacturing began contracting slightly last month, and service-related industries continued to expand, slightly. The week ended with another modest employment report. The dilemma for mortgage rates is focused around what the Fed will do next. The Fed will begin scaling down monetary support programs, but with no clear indication that the economy is gaining any momentum, it is anyone's guess as to when that scaling down will officially begin.

 

Mortgage rates begin the week with an upward bias. If this week's data simply comes in near expectations, rates could continue drifting upward. However, if either Retail Sales or Industrial Production come in significantly higher than expected, rates could flare upward again. Poor economic news, or even comforting words from the Fed could help rates slowly move downward.