![weather santa cruz april weather santa cruz april](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/22903787/20190402/112024/styles/raw/public/processed_images/400-concerts-skyglider-1-1554218413-5484.jpg)
“A sharp pullback in hiring could have a direct impact on people’s ability to keep spending, especially with today’s high inflation.”Īffordability still the biggest challenge “The big question for consumers is whether companies will over-react to the recession concerns and start trimming payrolls,” Ratiu said. But they are indirectly impacted by the Fed’s efforts to tame inflation.Īs for consumers, he said, they continue to spend, amassing a record $16.2 trillion in household debt according to data the Federal Reserve released this week. Instead, mortgage rates tend to track 10-year US Treasury bonds. The Federal Reserve does not set the interest rates borrowers pay on mortgages directly. In response to high inflation the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points last week, the second hike of that size in as many months. “Without a clear direction, markets are confining mortgage rates to move within a tighter range, as the sharp upward push has moderated,” he said. The drop comes as surprisingly positive reports for some economic indicators counterbalanced the talk of looming recession, said George Ratiu, ’s manager of economic research. “The high uncertainty surrounding inflation and other factors will likely cause rates to remain variable, especially as the Federal Reserve attempts to navigate the current economic environment.” The up and down is expected to continue, he said.