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Article: Economists Say Mortgage Rates Will Likely Linger around 7 Percent.
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
- Article date:
- May 16, 2001
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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By David Smith, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
May 16--There's one bright spot in this month's gloomy economic news about falling gross domestic product and rising unemployment: Mortgage rates will likely linger around 7 percent through the end of the summer.
Although 30-year fixed rate mortgages probably bottomed out in March at 6.8 percent, the economy remains too weak for mortgage rates to rise much more, economists and lenders say. In fact, rates could remain at the current level through year-end, they say.
The latest sign of economic weakness came Tuesday when the Federal Reserve cut the ...