Mortgage rates are worse for a 4th straight day this morning.
According to this mornings monthly jobs report from the Labor Department the US economy added 137,000 new jobs in the private sector last month. This number was much higher than analysts had expected which is great news for the economy but bad news for mortgage rates. In addition, the Labor Department also revised higher previously released numbers for July & August.
Across the pond the Bank of England made a surprise announcement overnight indicating that they would engage in quantitative easing to help bolster the economy. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel continue to meet with leaders from the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank to try and create a plan to support their financial system in the event of a Greek default.
For now, the outlook for the two factors that drove mortgage rates to new all-time lows, a weak US economy and fears over the EU debt crisis, appear better. As a result, mortgage rates have risen by about .25%.
From a technical perspective rate may get worse in the near-term. The 10yr Treasury note is currently at 2.09%. Should the 10yr Treasury yield close above 2.04% it would be a bad technical signal for rates. In that event I will shift my outlook to locking.
Current Outlook: neutral