Mortgage rates are higher this morning.
On both Tuesday & yesterday I outlined the importance of 10-year yields remaining below 3.14% for mortgage rates to improve further. Unfortunately yields were not able to hold the 3.14% level yesterday and have moved higher this morning which is also influencing mortgage rates higher.
Why? This morning’s weekly jobless claims figures showed that much fewer than expected Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week. Furthermore, yesterday’s Fed meeting minutes indicated that the Fed spent a lot of time talking about removing monetary stimulus from the economy. The markets are interpreting this as a positive sign for the economic recovery.
However, it wasn’t all good news today. The National Association of Realtors reported weaker than expected sales results for previously-occupied homes in the month of April. The housing market continues to move along sluggishly.
From a technical perspective it appears that rates may have bottomed out on Tuesday this week so I will shift back to a locking bias.
Current Outlook: locking bias