In this Sept. 25, 2019 file photo, a realty company's signs rest on several lawns in front of newly constructed houses in Brandon, Miss.. Long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell, Thursday, June 18, 2020, as the benchmark 30-year home loan reached a new all-time low. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reports that the average rate on the key 30-year loan declined to 3.13% from 3.21% last week. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week as the benchmark 30-year home loan reached a new all-time low.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate on the key 30-year loan declined to 3.13% from 3.21% last week. It was the lowest level since Freddie began tracking average rates in 1971. A year ago, the rate stood at 3.84%.
The average rate on the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage eased to 2.58% from 2.62%.
In recent weeks, signs have pointed to the economy appearing to be slowly recovering from the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic, with more businesses partially reopening. The housing market has shown strength and robust homebuying demand, but it may be difficult to sustain because of the tight supply of homes available for sale, said Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater.
The outlook for the economy and housing will be affected by prospects for a vaccine for the virus and government relief measures and policies, Khater noted.
The government reported Thursday that about 1.5 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, a historically high number, even as the economy increasingly reopens and employers bring some people back to work. The latest figure marked the 11th straight weekly decline in applications since they peaked at nearly 7 million in March.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
