The stock market is plummeting today because of concerns about the global economy, including the European debt crisis and the slowing growth rate in China. While some good news has come out of the U.S. economy recently, there is still a lot of uncertainty because of the brewing conflict between Iran and Israel and rising gas prices.

While mortgage rates are expected to stay generally low over the next several months, they may rise and fall in response to economic news.

Today's mortgage rates, according to HSH.com, average 4.23 percent for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, a slight drop from yesterday. However, average rates for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage are up today at 3.51 percent.

If closing in the next 30 days, I would LOCK my rate. Otherwise, I'd FLOAT my rate. This is only an opinion: What I would do if I were closing a mortgage at this time. Your decision may depend on other factors, such as the strength of your loan approval and your tolerance for risk.

Mortgage rates are expected by HSH.com to rise slightly this week, but today the average mortgage rate on a 30-year fixed-rate home loan is 4.24 percent, down very slightly since Friday. The modest increase is expected due to better economic news, although manufacturing reports were not quite as good as expected late last week.

The bigger news is that higher fees for FHA loans and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans are set to begin April 1. According to HSH.com, when lenders pass on the higher fees for Fannie and Freddie mortgages to their customers, the mortgage rate is likely to be about one-eighth of a percent higher.

If closing in the next 60 days, I would LOCK my rate. Otherwise, I'd FLOAT my rate. This is only an opinion: What I would do if I were closing a mortgage at this time. Your decision may depend on other factors, such as the strength of your loan approval and your tolerance for risk.

Economic news on March 1 was a good news/bad news mix, which is likely to mean that today's mortgage rates will be relatively unchanged. On the good news side, the Labor Department reported that unemployment insurance applications declined by 2,000 in the week ending February 25 to 351,000, better than analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had anticipated.

However, that positive news was tempered by reports on personal income, consumer spending and manufacturing, all of which came in weaker than expected. The Commerce Department reported that consumer spending rose 0.2 percent in January, less than the expected 0.4 percent; personal income rose by an anemic 0.3 percent, less than the expected 0.5 percent. The Institute for Supply Management's factory index fell from 54.1 percent to 52.4 percent in February. In addition, high gas prices remain a negative pressure on the economy.

Mortgage rates are expected to stay relatively stable in the immediate future, but if more weak economic news arrives, the possibility exists they could decline.

If closing in the next 30 days, I would LOCK my rate. Otherwise, I'd FLOAT my rate. This is only an opinion: What I would do if I were closing a mortgage at this time. Your decision may depend on other factors, such as the strength of your loan approval and your tolerance for risk.

The Federal Reserve's Beige Book, which takes a broad look at economic indicators in each region of the country, shows that the economy is moderately improving. Declines in joblessness, improvements in the manufacturing sector and even some progress in the housing market may lead to higher mortgage rates over the next several months.

Today, though, HSH.com reports that average mortgage rates declined a bit to 4.20 percent for a 30-year fixed-rate home loan and 3.49 percent for a 15-year home loan.

The bigger news for new FHA borrowers is that insurance fees are rising April 1. While it may be too late for purchasers, if you are looking for a mortgage refinance and already have an FHA loan, you may want to apply for a streamline FHA refinance today to beat the coming higher insurance rates.

If closing in the next 45 days, I would LOCK my rate. Otherwise, I'd FLOAT my rate. This is only an opinion: What I would do if I were closing a mortgage at this time. Your decision may depend on other factors, such as the strength of your loan approval and your tolerance for risk.

The Conference Board, a private research group, announced its consumer confidence index for February was 70.8, compared to 61.5 in January. The Dow Jones Industrial average closed above 13,000 on February 28, based in part on this news. The last time the Dow Jones closed above 13,000 was May 19, 2008.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) report on GDP should send the stock market up again today, particularly since the National Association for Business Economists (NABE) announced on February 27 that they expected GDP to rise by 2.4 percent in 2012. The BEA estimated today that GDP rose by 3.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011.

While positive economic news is welcome, the improvements tend to lead to a rise in mortgage rates. According to HSH.com, today's mortgage rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.24 percent on average.

If closing in the next 45 days, I would LOCK my rate. Otherwise, I'd FLOAT my rate. This is only an opinion: What I would do if I were closing a mortgage at this time. Your decision may depend on other factors, such as the strength of your loan approval and your tolerance for risk.