Rate Update December 9, 2010

Mortgage rates are priced slightly better today.

After dropping 181 basis points in the past 2 days mortgage-backed bonds (MBS’s) are technically oversold this morning.  So far MBS’s are responding to technical trading patterns which is why mortgage rates are slightly better.  We thought this might take place and switched to a neutral position yesterday.

Today we’ll switch to a floating position after the Labor Department reported that initial unemployment claims fell by last than expected last week.  Bad news for the economy coupled with a positive technical trading picture leads me to believe that pricing on rates will improve over the next 24-48 hours.  However, the longer-term trend is clear: rates are headed higher.

Current outlook: near-term floating, longer-term locking