Rate Update February 3, 2010

Mortgage rates are slightly worse this morning.

This morning the January ADP employment report was released.  This report which comes the Wednesday before the government’s official employment report is notorious for being off.  This morning’s report showed that the US economy lost 22,000 jobs in January.  Analysts are expecting a flat reading for Friday’s official jobs report.  Click HERE to learn why jobs are important to mortgage rates.

The US Treasury announced that it would auction $81 billion in 3-yr, 10-yr, and 30-yr bonds next week.  This was basically in line with expectations.  The treasury also mentioned that they may need to consider cutting auction sizes in the future.  This is good news for mortgage rates but hard to believe given the Federal Government’s ballooning deficits.

We could see yields move higher in the coming days if Greece is able to come up with a credible plan to fix its public finances.  Interest rates have fallen in the recent weeks on a “flight-to-quality” trade that could unwind.

We remain in a locking position.

Current outlook: locking