Light economic data saw the market stay fairly stable until Thursday.Thursday saw the release of the initial jobless claims report. Claims fell 19,000 to 334,000. The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories rose 0.6% in February. U.S. consumer credit rose $5.6 billion in February. This is the smallest gain in a couple of months.
The other important economic news came in the form of a speech delivered by Philadelphia Fed President Anthony Santomero on Thursday. U.S. debt prices decreased on comments made by Santomero that brought up inflation fears once again. Regarding the current economic environment, Santomero said policy-makers can move in a "slow and cautious manner" but cannot afford to get "behind the curve."
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.91 percent from 6.08 percent one week earlier, with points decreasing to 1.26 from 1.34 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.
The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs decreased to 4.29 percent from 4.39 percent one week earlier, with points decreasing to 0.90 from 0.97 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.
