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.

Fed chair Jerome Powell said he has not talked with Trump since the president demanded last week “interest rates drop immediately.”

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, just days after President Donald Trump called on the central bank to lower them. The announcement put the central bank on a potential collision course with Trump,