{"id":26288,"date":"2026-03-07T02:57:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T02:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=26288"},"modified":"2026-03-07T02:57:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T02:57:22","slug":"weekly-mortgage-rates-rise-jobs-report-reflects-uncertain-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=26288","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Mortgage Rates Rise; Jobs Report Reflects Uncertain Economy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><span>Mortgage rates increased this week following news of a new war in the Middle East. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In the week ending March 6, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate went up seven basis points from the week prior to 5.94%, according to rates provided to SS by Zillow. (A basis point is one one-hundredth of a percentage point.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>APRs for 30-year fixed mortgages averaged 5.92% in February, down seven basis points from January\u2019s average and down 84 basis points from February 2025. <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"mb-4\">\n<h2 class=\"heading font-gotham text-[1.5rem] font-bold\">How conflict in Iran affects mortgage rates<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4\"><span>As the fourth-largest oil producer in OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), Iran&#8217;s instability means oil price instability. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 800 points on Thursday as U.S. oil prices surged, according to the Wall Street Journal. Rising oil costs have stoked investor concerns about inflation. <\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4\"><span>The further that inflation moves above the Federal Reserve\u2019s 2% target rate, the less likely central bankers are to lower overnight borrowing rates. This has an indirect effect on mortgage rates; when the federal funds rate is lowered, it\u2019s cheaper for banks to borrow from one another to fund mortgages, and those savings can be passed along to borrowers. <\/span><\/div>\n<p><span>Beth M. Hammack, president of the Cleveland Federal Reserve and voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, told the New York Times this week that she expects the Fed to hold rates steady \u201cfor quite some time\u201d as central bankers wait for concrete data about the potential effects of the Iranian conflict on inflation. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIf we don\u2019t see inflation moving toward target as I expect, it could mean that we need to put more restriction on the economy,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In other words, if inflation really spikes, some central bankers might even push to raise rates. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>For those members of the Federal Open Market Committee who are more concerned with inflation, this could position them in direct conflict with the president\u2019s nominee for the next Fed chair, Kevin Warsh. President Trump has made it clear that he expects Warsh to align with his goal of slashing rates, even joking during a speech at a Washington dinner in January that he\u2019d sue if Warsh didn\u2019t get it done. <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"mb-4\">\n<div data-nw-tracking='{\"impression\":{\"event\":\"feature_viewed\",\"properties\":{\"entity_name\":\"wp_dynamic_placement\",\"content_id\":1337750}}}'>\n<div class=\"mt-0 mb-0\">\n<div class=\"bg-green-50 p-6\">\n<div class=\"mx-auto max-w-[1200px]\">\n<h2 class=\"mb-2 text-[#141424] text-[1.5rem] font-bold\">Explore mortgages today and get started on your homeownership goals<\/h2>\n<p> <span class=\"mb-6 text-[#141424]\">Get personalized rates. Your lender matches are just a few questions away.<\/span> <astro-island uid=\"Z1uWkcz\" prefix=\"r25\" component-url=\"https:\/\/www.nerdwallet.com\/sp\/assets\/HighIntentForm.uRLKmXko.js\" component-export=\"default\" renderer-url=\"https:\/\/www.nerdwallet.com\/sp\/assets\/client.DwtxjsxY.js\" props='{\"defaultZipCode\":[0,\"94103\"],\"variant\":[0,\"ENTRY\"],\"buttonText\":[0,\"GET STARTED\"],\"isRefinance\":[0,false],\"nwUrl\":[0,\"https:\/\/www.nerdwallet.com\"]}' ssr=\"\" client=\"delay\" opts='{\"name\":\"HighIntentForm\",\"value\":true}' await-children=\"\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-1 gap-4 md:grid-cols-2\">\n<div><label for=\"loanPurpose\" class=\"block text-sm text-gray-700 mb-2\">Do you want to purchase or refinance?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-full relative\"><select id=\"loanPurpose\" class=\"py-2 pl-4 pr-8 w-full bg-white min-h-11 border border-solid rounded-xs outline-none appearance-none focus:border-blue-light focus:bg-blue-lightest focus:shadow-[0_0_0_1px_theme('colors.blue-light')]\"><option value=\"\">Select your option<\/option><option value=\"purchase\" selected>Purchase<\/option><option value=\"refinance\">Refinance<\/option><\/select><svg viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" class=\"w-4 h-4 absolute pointer-events-none h-4 top-1\/2 right-2 fill-gray-600 -translate-y-1\/2\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M5.942 8h12.116c.838 0 1.257 1.02.664 1.618l-6.056 6.104a.939.939 0 01-1.332 0L5.278 9.619C4.685 9.02 5.104 8 5.942 8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><label for=\"propertyType\" class=\"block text-sm text-gray-700 mb-2\">What&#8217;s your property type?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-full relative\"><select id=\"propertyType\" class=\"py-2 pl-4 pr-8 w-full bg-white min-h-11 border border-solid rounded-xs outline-none appearance-none focus:border-blue-light focus:bg-blue-lightest focus:shadow-[0_0_0_1px_theme('colors.blue-light')]\"><option value=\"\">Select your option<\/option><option value=\"house\" selected>Single family home<\/option><option value=\"condo\">Condo<\/option><option value=\"townhouse\">Townhouse<\/option><\/select><svg viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" class=\"w-4 h-4 absolute pointer-events-none h-4 top-1\/2 right-2 fill-gray-600 -translate-y-1\/2\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M5.942 8h12.116c.838 0 1.257 1.02.664 1.618l-6.056 6.104a.939.939 0 01-1.332 0L5.278 9.619C4.685 9.02 5.104 8 5.942 8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><label for=\"propertyUse\" class=\"block text-sm text-gray-700 mb-2\">How do you plan to use this property?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-full relative\"><select id=\"propertyUse\" class=\"py-2 pl-4 pr-8 w-full bg-white min-h-11 border border-solid rounded-xs outline-none appearance-none focus:border-blue-light focus:bg-blue-lightest focus:shadow-[0_0_0_1px_theme('colors.blue-light')]\"><option value=\"\">Select your option<\/option><option value=\"primary\" selected>Primary residence<\/option><option value=\"secondary\">Secondary home<\/option><option value=\"investment\">Investment property<\/option><\/select><svg viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" class=\"w-4 h-4 absolute pointer-events-none h-4 top-1\/2 right-2 fill-gray-600 -translate-y-1\/2\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M5.942 8h12.116c.838 0 1.257 1.02.664 1.618l-6.056 6.104a.939.939 0 01-1.332 0L5.278 9.619C4.685 9.02 5.104 8 5.942 8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><button class=\"text-xs-half cursor-pointer h-[44px] w-full bg-green font-medium tracking-wide uppercase text-white transition-colors hover:bg-green-dark focus:outline-offset-4 focus:outline-2 focus:outline-blue-light rounded-xs disabled:opacity-50\">GET STARTED<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--astro:end--><\/astro-island> <\/p>\n<div class=\"mt-4 flex justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center gap-1 rounded bg-green-50 p-1 w-[200px] justify-center md:justify-start\"> <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" fill=\"none\" class=\"text-green-800\"> <path d=\"M8 0.666504L2 3.33317V7.33317C2 11.0332 4.56 14.4932 8 15.3332C11.44 14.4932 14 11.0332 14 7.33317V3.33317L8 0.666504ZM6.66667 11.3332L4 8.6665L4.94 7.7265L6.66667 9.4465L11.06 5.05317L12 5.99984L6.66667 11.3332Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path> <\/svg> <span class=\"text-[11px] tracking-[0.055px] text-green-800\"><br \/>\nWon&#8217;t affect your credit score<br \/>\n<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4\">\n<h2 class=\"heading font-gotham text-[1.5rem] font-bold\">The U.S. lost jobs in February<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the February jobs report this morning, revealing weaker-than-expected employment numbers. While it was projected that the U.S. would have added 50,000 jobs, the report showed a net loss of 92,000. The unemployment rate remained flat at 4.4%. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The job losses aren&#8217;t exactly as dramatic as they sound. They can be mostly attributed to slowed hiring in health care, which the BLS links to strike activity. Employment growth has been largely concentrated in that sector, so this change is bringing down employment numbers as a whole. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhile slow growth doesn\u2019t beget a very strong economy, it\u2019s not always cause for panic,\u201d says Elizabeth Renter, senior economist at SS.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"mb-4\"><span>\u201cHowever, this jobs report changes the calculus for the Fed meeting in a few weeks \u2014 the labor market remains on uncertain footing.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span>As of Friday afternoon, analysts are still largely predicting that central bankers will keep rates steady at their meeting later this month. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nerdwallet.com\/mortgages\/news\/weekly-mortgage-rates-3-6-26\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mortgage rates increased this week following news of a new war in the Middle East. In the week ending March 6, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate went up seven basis points from the week prior to 5.94%, according to rates provided to SS by Zillow. (A basis point is one one-hundredth of a percentage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[195],"tags":[285,39,417,261,4218,483,125,2275,62],"class_list":{"0":"post-26288","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-economy","9":"tag-jobs","10":"tag-mortgage","11":"tag-rates","12":"tag-reflects","13":"tag-report","14":"tag-rise","15":"tag-uncertain","16":"tag-weekly"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}