Rates Flat, May Rise Soon

During the week of Feb. 13, mortgage rates were flat, but they may rise again soon after news of President Trump and Congress reaching a budget agreement and making progress in China trade talks.

Rates stayed near one-year lows at the start of the week, but began ticking up in the wake of news on the budget deal. Going forward, markets are expected to monitor retail sales and consumer sentiment data, offering new insights into the impact of January's partial government shutdown, according to Zillow director of economic research Aaron Terrazas.

This week was relatively light on market-moving economic data releases, until Wednesday’s inflation announcement. Inflation has been one of the main indicators Fed officials are watching to evaluate the health of the U.S. economy, and Wednesday’s strong release—which showed 2.2 percent annual growth in core prices—pushed up bond yields.

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