There is not much in the way of economic data scheduled to be released this week so we’ll be watching technical trading patterns and the stock market for clues on the direction of mortgage rates. Stocks are currently trading up against technical resistance. Should the stock market reverse from recent highs we could see mortgage […]
Mortgage rates have improved modestly from yesterday’s levels thanks to the technical support. Bond prices have now regained the levels they reached a week ago today. We are shifting our outlook to a neutral focus after being in a floating stance the past few days. Current Outlook: neutral
Mortgage-backed bonds have found technical trading support at the 200-day moving average (blue line in the chart below). After rates increased by .25%-.375% over the previous four trading days it looks like bond prices may rise helping push rates back down. Watch today’s you tube video for explanation about this chart. Current Outlook: floating
Mortgage-rates have now increased by .25%-.375% since we shifted our outlook to locking on Friday, May 9th. The cause of the rate increase has been strength in the stock market and worse than expected inflation data. However, this morning’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report may help rates reverse course. The monthly report which is an […]
This morning’s monthly retail sales report issued by the commerce department is raising concern over inflation. Watch today’s you tube video to learn what the report showed. Here is a link to a blog posting explaining the relationship between inflation and mortgage rates. Current Outlook: locking
What causes mortgage rates to go up or down? How come one day 30-year fixed rates are 6.00% and the next they’re 6.125%? For many people the vision of a boardroom full of cigar smoking bankers comes to mind when contemplating this question. Or, many believe that the Federal Reserve Bank holds ultimate control with […]
Mortgage rates rose Friday afternoon in response to inflation concerns surrounding oil prices. The economic calendar looks relatively light this week so we’ll be watching technical trading patterns as well as the stock market to forecast mortgage rates. In case you missed it last week I posted this blog about how the stock market can […]
Mortgage rates are lower again this morning thanks to the rally in the bond market yesterday afternoon. However, the party may be short lived. Mortgage rates have benefitted from a weak stock market over the past couple days (on a side note, I recently blogged about the relationship between the stock market and mortgage rates […]
Although inflation expectations are the primary factor that influence the direction of mortgage rates on a day-to-day basis the stock market can also have an impact. To understand how this relationship works it’s first important to understand how mortgage rates are determined. Mortgage rates are entirely determined by the price of mortgage-backed bonds (MBS’s). MBS’s […]
Technical trading patterns are what helped mortgage rates move lower yesterday afternoon. In yesterday’s ‘rate update’ we stated: “Mortgage-backed bond prices continue to trade just above important technical support. We are watching this level and hope that prices hold. If prices should slip we will shift our outlook to a locking stance.” Not only did […]