This has triggered a rebound in US Treasury yields and a second consecutive weekly rise in mortgage rates, after several weeks of declines. The return on 10-year notes US10YT=RR serves as a benchmark for mortgage rates.
In January, inflation in the United States reached 6.4%. Despite the fact that the consumer price index fell for the seventh consecutive month, it is still a long way from the Fed’s target of 2% average.
The Fed interest rate is in a range of 5.5% or 4.75%. The US central bank is aiming for more hikes as it is still a long way from achieving its inflation target.
Goldman Sachs and Bank of America agree that the regency interest rate will reach a range of 5.25% and 5.5%.
Mortgage rates soared above 7% last October, when the central bank raised the benchmark rate in 2022 at the fastest pace in 40 years, but had started to decline after signs that inflation was on the decline. at the end of last year. The rate-sensitive housing sector has borne the brunt of the Fed’s moves.
The new rise in mortgage rates kept more potential buyers on the sidelines. The MBA Composite Purchase Index, a measure of all mortgage loan applications for the purchase of a single-family home, fell 18.1% from the previous week to its lowest level since 1995.
The MBA Market Composite Index, which measures the total volume of home loan applications, also fell 13.3% from the previous week.
Other housing sector data showed on Tuesday that US existing home sales fell to the lowest level in more than 12 years in January, but the pace of decline slowed, raising cautious optimism that the decline The housing market could be about to hit rock bottom.
