Saturday,
August 12, 2023
Top Story
The week in review
• The consumer price index rose 3.2% year-over-year in July, slightly below the 3.3% forecast.The report showed that core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased 0.2% for the month, equating to a 12-month rate of 4.7%.
• Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, a voting member of the FOMC, suggested the central bank could be at the end of its current rate-hiking cycle. He stated the Fed may be at a point where it can hold rates steady, allowing the monetary policy actions the FOMC has taken over the past year to do their work. On a less dovish note, Harker also indicated there are unlikely to be rate cuts anytime soon.
• Mortgage rates with conforming loan balances increased to 7.09% from 6.93%. The rate on Federal Housing Administration loans hit 7.02%, the highest since 2002. As a result, applications for mortgages for new home purchases dropped 3% for the week and 27% year-over-year. Applications to refinance a home loan also fell 4% for the week, 37% lower year-over-year.
For more economic news, visit On the Money — SoFi’s one-stop-shop for news, trends, and tips!
Nothing lasts forever, and that includes the inverted Treasury yield curve
The Treasury yield curve tells us about the market’s expectations for the economy and interest rates. After months of flashing warning signs as the curve inverted, with long-term bond yields falling below short-term bond yields, it’s begun to point in the opposite direction.
SoFi’s Head of Investment Strategy Liz Young breaks down what is going on with the yield curve and what it could mean for investors.
