Mortgage Rate Update January 4, 2016

Posted on by Evan in Rate Update, Swanson Home Loans Blog - Mortgage Rate Updates and More

Mortgage rates are unchanged from last Monday.

Global influences are helping the outlook for mortgage rates.  Chinese officials had to put a halt to trading earlier today as the Chinese stock market fell 7% after a report showed a decline in factory activity there.

THE CHINESE STOCK MARKET TRADED SHARPLY LOWER TODAY WHICH IS HELPING US MORTGAGE RATES.
THE CHINESE STOCK MARKET TRADED SHARPLY LOWER TODAY WHICH IS HELPING US MORTGAGE RATES.

Geopolitical tensions are rising in the middle east following the execution of 47 individuals by Saudi Arabia over the weekend.  Saudi Arabia announced that they would cut diplomatic ties with Iran.  The financial markets are concerned about this event spiraling into an armed conflict.  When geopolitical tensions rise, US interest rates benefit.

In response US stocks are trading sharply lower to start the new year.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average is currently off 422 points (-2.4%).  When US stocks trade lower mortgage rates tend to improve.

The economic calendar is fairly quiet this week until we get to the all-important jobs report on Friday.  I will focus on that in this Thursday’s update.

Current Outlook: floating