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Mortgage Rates Modestly Higher to Start The Week

Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch

Mortgage rates were higher again on Monday, but just barely. The average lender was still in worse shape on Tuesday or Wednesday of last week when rates were the highest they'd been in about a month. Rates reflect demand in the bond market. Bonds can be bought or sold for a variety of reasons, but one of the key reasons is the general levels of fear and optimism surrounding the economy. When investors are less certain about positive economic outcomes, they tend to buy more bonds. This results in rates moving lower. That sort of uncertainty reached a bit of a boiling point at the end of March when the Fed called out economic uncertainty in Europe and China as one of the biggest risks to the global economic outlook. Since then, however, some of the data suggests the sky may not be falling just...(read more)