Mission Chronicle Newsletter July 24, 2023

Mortgage rates continued to press downward last week after the previous week’s CPI data pointed to
easing inflationary pressures. Only a few weeks ago, the market was expecting the Federal Reserve to
raise rates by another half-point at its meeting that takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday. Now
markets are universally convinced that the Fed will only raise rates by one-quarter of a point. Retail
Sales and Industrial Production also helped generate downward pressure by coming under
expectations. While many economists believe that the economy is cooling off, inflation still remains
above the Fed’s target rate, and the job market remains very hot.