Last week's economic news includes several factors that drove U.S. mortgage rates lower. The Bank of Japan announced that it would increase its purchase of bonds by $1.4 trillion over the next two years.  This news caused yields on Japanese bonds to fall, which made U.S. bonds more appealing to international investors, that in turn increased MBS prices and caused mortgage rates to fall. Bumpy Employment Numbers Support Lower Interest Rates Other significant economic news involves an unexpected drop in the number of new jobs created last month. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Nonfarm … [Read more...]