Bernanke’s outlook & mortgage rates
In his speech to the worlds most powerful central bankers today Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke briefly about inflation according to this NY Times article.
From the article, “Mr. Bernanke, while acknowledging ‘an increase in inflationary pressure,’ reasserted his view that in the near future, the upswing in inflation from the oil and food shocks was likely to moderate.”
If his outlook proves correct this would be a good sign for mortgage rates. Mortgage rates have ticked higher over the past few months in response to higher inflationary pressures (i.e. commodity &/ energy prices). If these pressures to moderate then hopefully mortgage rates will also move lower.