Policy changes: When the Fed adjusts the federal funds rate, it spills over into many aspects of the economy, including mortgage rates. The federal funds rate affects how much it costs banks to borrow money, which in turn affects what banks charge consumers to make a profit.

Traders on Friday kept bets that the Federal Reserve will wait until June to resume interest rate cuts, after government data showed inflation by the U.S. central bank's targeted measure ticked up to 2.