Mortgage rates edged lower last week as markets digested new data that gave mixed signals about the health of the economy.
As of Wednesday, the average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.18%, compared with 6.21% a week ago, according to Freddie Mac. The average 15-year mortgage rate increased slightly, from 5.47% to 5.5%.
“Falling interest rates provide a timely and welcome gift to aspiring homebuyers,” Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater said in a statement.
Read more: How to Get the Lowest Mortgage Rate Instantly
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which closely tracks mortgage rates, has been volatile amid conflicting economic data releases. Last week, consumer price index data, affected by the government shutdown, showed inflation unexpectedly slowed in November. But a new report released on Tuesday said U.S. gross domestic product surged 4.3% in the third quarter.
Mortgage rates have been in a tight range around 6.2% since mid-September. They are unlikely to change much in the final week of the year due to a lighter holiday trading schedule, which includes an early close for stock and bond markets on Christmas Eve and no trading on Christmas Day.
“We don’t expect significant moves in mortgage rates for the remainder of the year as housing activity is already subdued this year and the homebuying month is traditionally slow,” Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com, said in a statement.
As the year draws to a close, mortgage applications for purchases and refinances taper off. As of Friday, purchase applications were down 4% from a week earlier, while refinances were down 6%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Claire Boston is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering housing, mortgages and home insurance.
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