Minutes from a July 31-Aug. 1 Federal Open Market Committee meeting released Wednesday afternoon show Federal Reserve officials leaning toward taking more steps to artificially lower long-term rates.
Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae, said he thinks “the probability of them acting has fallen” since the meeting. But market direction remains somewhat volatile.
If Fed officials take further rate-lowering actions, more MBS purchases by the central bank are likely to be part of the mix, he said.
Long-term rates and rate-indicative bond yields spiked a bit recently but have backed off some this week.
When asked about these developments and what their implications might be, Jonathan Kunkle, president, document services, at industry vendor
