October 16, 2024
United States:
US Mortgage Rates Climb to 6.52%, Highest Since Early August
US mortgage rates rose sharply for a second straight week, reaching the highest level since early August while prompting steep declines in both home-purchase and refinance activity.
The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose 16 basis points to 6.52% in the week ended Oct. 11, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday. In the last two weeks, the rate has climbed 38 basis points, the most for any comparable period since February 2023.
United Kingdom:
UK Inflation Undershoot Prompts Traders to Ramp Up Rate Cut Bets
UK inflation slipped below the Bank of England’s 2% target for the first time in more than three years, spurring investors to bet on a quicker pace of interest-rate cuts in the coming months.
Consumer prices rose 1.7% in September compared to a year earlier, down from a pace of 2.2% previously, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. That’s lower than the 1.9% expected by economists and the 2.1% forecast by the British central bank in August.
Asia:
BOJ Board Member Urges Slow Approach to Interest Rate Hikes
Bank of Japan Board Member Seiji Adachi emphasized the need for taking a gradual approach to raising the benchmark interest rate, in comments that will likely cement views in the market that authorities will stand pat when they gather to set policy this month.
“What we need to be careful of, in a gradual rate hike process, is that we raise it extremely gradually while keeping financial conditions accommodative” until the price trend gets to 2%, Adachi said Wednesday in a speech to local business leaders in Kagawa, on the island of Shikoku, Japan.
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