Mortgage rates are mostly unchanged to start the week.
The economic calendar for the week doesn’t kick off until tomorrow when we’ll get to see the latest Case-Shiller home price figures & consumer confidence numbers. The markets will keep focused on the US Treasury’s $99 billion in new debt sales which start tomorrow AND the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy statement on Wednesday.
Europe’s equivalent of our Federal Reserve Chairman warned over the weekend that inflationary pressure is building around the globe and that he may raise short-term rates in response. We know that inflation is the primary driver of mortgage rates so his comments may create momentum to push rates higher.
Mortgage-backed bonds continue to trade in a tight trading range increasing the risk of an acute move higher or lower. Now that rates have increased back to the higher end of the range I will recommend a floating position.
Current outlook: floating