November 18th, 2016 12:16 PM by T. Fanning
Last Updated: 11/18/16Friday's bond market has opened in positive territory with stocks calm and no significant economic data to drive trading. The major stock indexes are flat with the Dow up 6 points and the Nasdaq up 2 points. The bond market is currently 4/32 (2.28%), but afternoon selling from yesterday is going to cause this morning's mortgage rates to show approximately .125 - .250 of a discount point higher than yesterday's morning pricing. If your lender did revise higher before closing Thursday, you should see less of an increase this morning.Yesterday's late selling in bonds is a concern. The post-election sell-off had a chance to stall, allowing bonds to stabilize, keeping the benchmark 10-year Treasury Note yield below 2.25%. This was an important resistance level. The afternoon selling pushed right through that level, closing at 2.30%. The problem is that above 2.25%, there aren't many hurdles to 2.50 or even 2.65%. Since mortgage rates tend to track bond yields, this means further increases to rates are a possibility in the near future if we don't move back below 2.25%.The Conference Board gave us today's only relevant economic data with the release their Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) at 10:00 AM. They announced a 0.1% increase for October, matching forecasts. That means the indicators are predicting minimal economic growth over the next several months. However, since it pegged expectations it has had little impact on today's bond trading and mortgage pricing.Next week has an altered trading schedule due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Despite the shortened week, we still will get a handful of economic reports that can affect mortgage rates in addition to the minutes from the most recent FOMC meeting. There is nothing of importance set for Monday that we need to prepare for. Look for details on all of next week's activities in Sunday evening's weekly preview.If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would....Lock if my closing were taking place within 7 days...Lock if my closing were taking place between 8 and 20 days...Lock if my closing were taking place between 21 and 60 days...Float if my closing were taking place over 60 days from now...This is only my opinion of what I would do if I was financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.http://www.hlmcolorado.com/DailyRateAdvisory
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