Interest Rates Steady near Record Lows

Interest rates stayed about the same this week near record lows .The following are excerpts from the newsletter on interest rates published by HSH Associates :
“Mortgage rates held at record levels this week, as there was little strong economic data to move them around much. Much of the data which was available came from economic components dependent to a degree on mortgage rates, and were mildly improved as a result of the low levels they’ve been perched at for months.

Will future economic conditions continue to support a positive homebuying environment? If the index of Leading Economic Indicators can be believed, the answer is yes. The LEI expanded a mild 0.2% in October, a second consecutive positive reading after a negative August. The LEI is a spotty forecasting tool, and may better reflect the conditions in which its components are gathered. Still, forward momentum plays a role in the economy, and we appear to have more in the fourth quarter than we had during the third, so perhaps conditions will continue to improve.

A lot of that improvement depends upon getting a deal done to address the fiscal cliff ,and how well business concerns adapt to the changes coming as a result of health care reform. Regardless of a deal, it seems very likely that economy is poised to slow by an unknown amount for an unknown length of time, all starting as soon as the calendar turns 2013.

A fuller plate of economic data is due out next week. First, we’ll get a look at how strongly consumers kicked off the holiday shopping season, followed by new homes sales, the Fed’s own regional survey of economic conditions, an update on third-quarter GDP, personal incomes and spending and more. We don’t expect much movement in mortgage rates, which seem content to drift gently downward, if a direction can be discerned at all.”

The following are interest rate quotes from Al Hermann of American California Financial: