Mortgage Rates Today, May 9, 2025: Tariff News Pushes Rates Higher
The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 6.77% yesterday, a decrease of 0.03% since the day before. The 15-year fixed mortgage rate stood at 5.73%, down by 0.04%. The 30-year FHA mortgage averaged 6.06% yesterday, having dropped by 0.11. Meanwhile, the 30-year jumbo mortgage rate was 7.19%, reflecting a decrease of 0.07%.
The bigger picture
Trade
Yesterday's announcement of a new trade deal with the United Kingdom was taken by markets as a de-escalation in the trade war. That was good for stocks but bad for mortgage rates.
Indeed, mortgage rates today start out only a shade below 7% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan.
However, not everyone was as happy with the U.K. deal as markets were. Some experts warned there were still weeks or months of negotiations to be done before the agreement could be signed, and those would have to address many contentious issues.
And deals with other countries may not be as straightforward, argues Barron's. The trade gap between the U.S. and the U.K. is narrow. "The details of the U.K. deal have yet to be announced, but it isn‘t obvious what other countries with [large] trade surpluses with the U.S., such as China, India, and Vietnam, can put on the table," says the financial journal.
So, there's a glimmer of hope for mortgage rates. If future trade deals are few and far between, there may be room for those rates to fall back, provided inflation doesn't jump.
Mortgage Rate Trends: Past 90 Days
Purchase Rates
| Loan Type | Rate | APR | Daily Change | Monthly Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30-Year Fixed | 6.77% | 6.8% | -0.03% | -0.04% |
| 15-Year Fixed | 5.73% | 5.78% | -0.04% | -0.03% |
| 30-Year Fixed FHA | 6.06% | 7.26% | -0.11% | +0.06% |
| 30-Year Fixed VA | 6.26% | 6.41% | -0.01% | +0.12% |
| 30-Year Fixed USDA | 6.07% | 6.21% | -0.22% | -0.02% |
| 30-Year Fixed Jumbo | 7.19% | 7.21% | -0.07% | -0.2% |
| 5/6 Year ARM | 6.78% | 6.82% | +0.01% | +0.17% |
Refinance Rates
| Loan Type | Rate | APR | Daily Change | Monthly Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30-Year Fixed | 6.86% | 6.88% | -0.02% | -0.04% |
| 15-Year Fixed | 5.73% | 5.77% | -0.04% | -0.04% |
| 30-Year Fixed FHA | 6.06% | 7.26% | -0.12% | +0.08% |
| 30-Year Fixed VA | 6.33% | 6.48% | -0.01% | +0.11% |
| 5/6 Year ARM | 6.9% | 6.94% | +0.02% | +0.23% |
Coming up
Although economic reports are usually the main drivers of changes to mortgage rates, they're not the only ones. The general mood in markets and economically consequential news can also affect those rates.
Mortgage rates today
There are no economic reports on today's MarketWatch economic calendar. However, a veritable swarm of senior Fed officials (11 of them) have speaking engagements, starting early this morning and continuing through until this evening. Their views on future cuts to general interest rates will be interesting but less authoritative than the Fed chair's news conference on Wednesday.
Next week
We're due some important economic reports next week. Those include the consumer price index on Tuesday and retail sales on Thursday.
These reports are normally more than capable of moving mortgage rates. But they might not if there's other economically significant news around when they're published. That might compete for investors' attention.
Recently, such news has mostly concerned tariffs. However, worries about future deficits might emerge in the coming weeks as tax legislation works its way through Congress.
