Rate Update October 15, 2009

Mortgage rates are unchanged from yesterday morning.

On the inflation front the Labor Department released their monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) report this morning.  It showed that headline inflation pressures were slightly higher than analysts’ had expected.  At least for now inflation does not appear to be a huge threat but traders remain concerned about the long-term implications of the stimulus package.

Working against mortgage rates are better than expected jobless claims figures, which are released each Thursday, and better than expected profits being reported from Goldman Sachs (GS) & Citibank (C).  Currently the Dow Jones Industrial Average is back below 10,000 after closing above that level for the first time in over a year yesterday.

MBS’s have reversed higher getting technical support at the 50-day moving average.  We remain in a cautiously floating position for the short-term.

Current outlook: short-term floating, long-term locking