NEW YORK (Reuters) - The average rate on the popular U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked down this week to the lowest level since May 2023, but may need to fall further for the housing market to see significant improvement in demand. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.46% during the week ending Aug. 22, down from 6.49% in the prior week,...

While discussions at the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole Symposium will cover various topics, investors remain especially focused on Fed Chair Jerome Powell‘s speech scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m. ET. The market, historically, is sensitive to any short-term monetary policy guidance Powell offers. Recall 2022. Powell hinted that policy would likely need to stay restrictive “for some time” to bring...

Jackson Hole, Wyoming (Reuters) - Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins on Thursday expressed confidence the U.S. central bank will be able to bring inflation down without triggering a recession, and signaled her support for starting interest rate cuts next month. I think there's a clear path to achieving our goals without an unneeded downturn, and with a labor market...

11:05 AM EDT, 08/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Kansas City Fed monthly manufacturing index rose to a reading of minus 3 in August from minus 13 in July, compared with expectations for a smaller increase to a reading of minus 9 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:35 am ET. The reading indicates slower contraction, which is in...