FOMC

Mortgage rates have been on a steady decline since the March 15 Federal Open Market Committee meeting, hitting a new low for 2017, according to Freddie Mac.

Investors have reacted to the Federal Reserve's plan to shrink the balance sheet so far in exactly the opposite way that policymakers had feared.

The average weekly rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 4.1% from 4.14% despite the release of information about further tapering of the Federal Reserve's mortgage bond holdings.

Most Federal Reserve officials agree that they will begin shrinking their super-sized balance sheet later this year.

Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker resigned Tuesday after revealing that he inadvertently disclosed confidential information about monetary policy to an analyst in 2012.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.14% for the week ending March 30, down from last week when it averaged 4.23%.

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan said the central bank should roll off both mortgage-backed securities and Treasury holdings when it begins to let its balance sheet shrink.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.23% for the week ending March 23, down from last week when it averaged 4.3%.

Mortgage rates are being pushed higher by the same economic factors that led the Federal Open Market Committee to increase short-term rates.

The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday raised the federal funds rate 0.25%, marking only the third rate hike since the financial crisis.