Just before the release of the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee July meeting, interest rates changed very little, inching down only slightly.
“For eight consecutive weeks mortgage rates have ranged between 3.41% and 3.48%,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sean Becketti said. “Inflation is not adding any upward pressure on interest rates as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index was unchanged in July.”
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(Source: Freddie Mac)
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased to an average 3.43% for the week ending in August 18, 2016. That is down from last week’s 3.45% and last year’s 3.93%.
The 15-year FRM decreased to an average 2.74% from last week’s 2.76% and from last year’s 2.94%.
On the other hand, the five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage increased to 2.76%. This is up from last week’s 2.74% but down from last year’s 2.94%.
“Ahead of the release of the FOMC minutes for July, 10-year Treasury yields were little changed from the prior week,” Becketti said. “The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell two basis points to 3.43% this week, erasing last week’s uptick.”
