Last week inflations date was released & Raleigh Mortgage Rates responded

Last week inflations date was released & Raleigh Mortgage Rates responded

Last week inflation news hit the wires and this impacted Raleigh Mortgage Rates. Now inflation is measured on both a wholesale and consumer levels. The wholesale-measuring Producer Price Index (a.k.a. PPI) showed that prices remained mostly unchanged during March. Remember, inflation hurts the value of fixed investments like Bonds (including Mortgage Bonds, to which Raleigh mortgage rates are tied)…so the lack of inflation on the wholesale side was very good news for Bonds and Raleigh mortgage rates.

Also helping Bonds Raleigh home loan rates last week was the tame inflation data from the Consumer Price Index (a.k.a. CPI). The headline reading for March was right in line with estimates. Then when you take out volatile food & energy, the Core CPI was also inline with estimates – HOWEVER he year-over-year number was 2.3%, just slightly higher than the previous reading of 2.2%. While this raises eyebrows a bit, the Fed is still reiterating that inflation remains restrained.

Here is the Kevin Martini take on this… if the Core CPI continues to rise…which is indicative of inflation…Raleigh home loan rates will have a tough time improving much further – period.

One key factor to keep an eye on is the labor market, as Initial Jobless Claims increased 13,000 for the week ending April 7. This marks the highest level since January & the second highest reading for 2012. The Fed has acknowledged that job creations are short of their goals.

The bottom line is that many factors will impact the direction in which Bonds and Raleigh mortgage rates move in the weeks ahead. The good news is that Raleigh home loan rates remain near historic lows & now continues to be a great time to purchase or refinance a home.

Earning season continues on Wall Street plus the economic calendar is FULL…reports on sales, housing, jobless claims and manufacturing:

Starting Monday…Retail Sales will be reported…nvestors will be able to gauge how consumer spending is holding up.

In manufacturing news, the Empire State Index out of New York and the Philadelphia Fed Index will be released on Monday and Thursday, respectively.

Housing will be in the news this week with Housing Starts and Building Permits for March being reported on Tuesday. Those reports will be followed by the Existing Home Sales report for March, which will be released on Thursday.

The weekly Initial Jobless Claims report will be released on Thursday. The report released last week showed that jobless claims rose to their highest level since the week ending January 28. So the markets will be watching this week’s release!
Again, it is earning season & corporate earnings may influence the Stock markets – and as we know, the Bond markets usually move in the opposite direction.

Remember: Weak economic news normally causes money to flow out of Stocks and into Bonds, helping Bonds and Raleigh mortgage ratesimprove, while strong economic news normally has the opposite result.