Weekly Mortgage Rates Rise Following Erratic Tariff News [Video]

Mortgage rates went up for the first time in a month as investors worried about the uncertain future.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.62% in the week ending March 13, up 11 basis points from the previous week. A basis point is one one-hundredth of a percentage point. The increase put an end to a three-week winning streak in which mortgage rates had fallen.

Shifting tariff news keeps markets off-balance

Investors gobbled handfuls of ultra strength Tums as they wrapped their heads around the week’s tariff-related flip-flops: Imposition of 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, then postponement for a month. A threat to double tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel, which was withdrawn after Canada said it would jack up the price of cross-border electricity. Then the Trump administration slapped a 25% worldwide tariff on steel and aluminum.

Tariffs could reverse the Federal Reserve’s progress in reducing the inflation rate. If inflation goes up, so will interest rates.

Fed chief: ‘The economy’s fine’

Responding to the …