This week is fairly busy in terms of the number of economic releases s cheduled for release, but the biggest news will likely be the last Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting of the year Tuesday. There are five monthly reports scheduled for release, with three of them being considered of high importance. Accordingly, I am expecting to see some volatility in the markets and mortgage pricing this week.

There is no relevant economic news scheduled for release tomorrow or Tuesday. However, the last FOMC meeting of the year is Tuesday. There is much debate about what the Fed will do at this meeting. Some thing that another rate cut is coming while others think the Fed will wait until early next year before making another move. The lack of wide consensus means that we will likely see plenty of movement in the markets regardless of what they do (or don't do). The post meeting statement usually has a significant influence on the markets and mortgage rates, but the results of the actual meeting are usually not much of a surprise. Acc ordingly, this particular meeting may bring more volatility than usual.

October's Goods and Services Trade Balance report will be posted early Wednesday morning. This report gives the size of the U.S. trade deficit, but it is the week's least important release. It is expected to show a $57.0 billion trade deficit. Unless it varies greatly from forecasts, I don't expect it to affect mortgage pricing.

The first important data of the week comes early Thursday morning with the release of November's Retail Sales report. This data is very important to the financial markets because it measures consumer spending. Since consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy, any related data is watched closely. Current forecasts call for it to show a 0.6% increase in sales from October's levels. If it reveals weaker than expected sales, the bond market should thrive and mortgage rates should fall as a result. A stronger than expected reading could fu el stock market gains and push mortgage rates higher Thursday morning.

Also Thursday and just as important as the sales data, the Labor Department will release November's Producer Price Index (PPI). This index measures inflationary pressures at the producer level of the economy. There are two portions of the index that are used- the overall reading and the core data reading. The core data is the more important of the two because it excludes more volatile food and energy prices. If Thursday's release reveals stronger than expected readings, indicating that inflationary pressures are rising, the bond market will probably react negatively and should drive mortgage rates higher. If we see in-line or weaker than expected numbers, the bond market should fair well and mortgage rates should fall. Current forecasts are showing a 1.5% rise in the overall index and a 0.2% rise in the core data.

Friday's big news is November's Consumer Price Index (CPI). It is similar to Thursday's PPI, except it tracks inflationary pressures at the consumer level of the economy. Current forecasts call for an increase of 0.6% in the overall index and a 0.2% rise in the core data reading. The core data is watched more closely because it excludes more volatile food and energy prices, giving a more stabile reading for analysts to consider. Rapidly rising inflationary pressures is a concern to the bond market because inflation erodes the value of a bond's future fixed interest payments. This usually leads to bond prices falling and mortgage rates rising.

November's Industrial Production report is also scheduled to be posted Friday and is considered to be of fairly high importance to the financial and mortgage markets. It gives us a measurement of manufacturing sector strength by tracking output at U.S. factories, mines and utilities. Analysts are expecting this report to show a 0.1% increase in output. However, the CPI will likely be t he biggest influence on bonds and mortgage rates Friday.

Overall, expect to see a pretty volatile week in the financial markets and mortgage pricing. The biggest event of the week is Tuesday's FOMC meeting, but Thursday's Retail Sales and PPI reports and Friday's CPI index can also cause a great deal of movement in rates. Due to the expected volatility, I am holding the current lock recommendations. However, please maintain constant contact with your mortgage professional if you have not locked an interest rate yet.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Lock if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/ any other borrowers.