Mortgage Rate Update March 24, 2011

Posted on by Evan in Rate Update

Mortgage rates are priced slightly worse this morning.

Global story-lines continue to drive the financial markets here in the US.  Portugal’s Parliament rejected austerity measures yesterday which is widely expected to lead to another EU bailout.

...this time it's Portugal

Last summer the EU debt crisis drove mortgage rates lower but this time around the markets were not shocked by this new development.

In economic news weekly jobless claims were reported lower than expected.  The figures continue to suggest that the jobs market is slowly improving.  In contrast, durable goods orders fell last month which has economists concerned that consumers and businesses may be holding off on making investments until broader signs of economic recovery are evident.

The US Treasury will announce the auction schedule for next week later today.  The markets are expecting $99 billion in new treasury supply.  Click HERE
to understand how government borrowing can impact mortgage rates.

All in all the markets appear to be trading sideways.  However, the longer-term outlook still suggests that locking is a prudent move.

Current outlook: long-term locking bias