Rate Update August 6, 2009

Mortgage rates are higher again this morning.

The US Treasury announced that they will offer more inflated-protected bonds in response to greater demand from buyers; especially China.  This is a sign that the market is concerned about future inflation which does not bode well for mortgage rates in the long-term.  I plan to blog about this subject in the near future.

In the short-term, attention is focused on tomorrow’s jobs report (click this link to learn why the jobs report is an important factor for mortgage rates). Jobless claims numbers out today suggest that the number of jobs lost in July could be less than expected which would put upward pressure on rates.  However, mortgage rates have risen by proximately .25% so the market may have a muted response if the report beats expectations.

Current outlook: neutral heading into tomorrow’s jobs report