Source: Bigstock
At year’s end the Federal Reserve boosted interest rates by a little for the first time in years.
Interest rates had already been creeping up, but that upward trend seems to have taken a breather. The rates released Thursday by Freddie Mac showed the 30-year fixed-rate average was down half of a percentage point to 4.12 percent.
Quoted in the Washington Post article was Freddie Mac chief economist Sean Becketti:
“After absorbing a mixed December jobs report, the 10-year Treasury yield fell eight basis points. The 30-year mortgage rate moved in tandem with Treasury yields falling eight basis points to 4.12 percent, the second decline since the presidential election. The December jobs report showed 156,000 jobs added, barely meeting many experts’ expectations, while wage growth was at the high end of expectations at 0.4 percent. If strong wage gains persist, they may push inflation and interest rates higher.”
