"Our table was set with the release of minutes from the Fed's most recent meeting in late October, when it cut the overnight federal funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point. But there was some dissent: One member of the rate-setting committee wanted to cut the rate by half a percentage point. Another member didn't want to cut the rate at all."
"When the committee discussed what the Fed should do at its next meeting, Dec. 9-10, things apparently got tense, like when your uncle bellows about politics at the Thanksgiving table. According to meeting minutes, the Fed members "expressed strongly differing views." Most said they think the Fed should cut rates again, but not necessarily in December. These meeting minutes disappointed the mortgage market, which hungers for more rate cuts."
Mortgage rates dropped, with the 30-year fixed-rate average falling 15 basis points to 6.08% APR for the week ending Nov. 26; a basis point equals one one-hundredth of a percentage point. Economic data was sparse because many reports remain delayed despite the government's reopening, leaving markets to speculate based on Fed commentary. Minutes from the Fed's late-October meeting showed dissent among officials: one favored a 50 basis-point cut, another opposed any cut. When discussing the Dec. 9-10 meeting, members expressed strongly differing views, and most favored further cuts but not necessarily in December, disappointing markets seeking quicker easing.
Read at SFGATE
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