Inflation News
Next week can be considered a split week with little scheduled the early days that is expected to affect mortgage rates. It starts with no economic data Monday and a moderately important consumer confidence reading Tuesday, in addition to a couple of shorter-term Treasury auctions. They will be followed by more middle of the road data early Wednesday. However, things change drastically Wednesday afternoon when the FOMC meeting adjourns. Then Thursday and Friday bring us some very important economic data, including a key inflation reading, the initial Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reading for the first quarter of the year and the ISM manufacturing index. Unless something totally unexpected comes from the Middle East early in the week, we should see the most movement in rates the second half. Look for details on all of next week’s activities in Sunday evening’s weekly preview.