March 13th, 2020 2:10 PM by T. Fanning
Last Updated: 3/13/20Friday's bond market is following suit of the past two weeks, with plenty of volatility. It is well in negative territory at the moment, which isn't a surprise considering stocks are showing gains (for the time being). The Dow is currently up 643 points while the Nasdaq has gained 265 points. The bond market has had a wide trading range this morning but is currently down 23/32. That, along with yesterday afternoon's selling, should cause this morning's mortgage rates to be approximately .375 - .500 of a discount point higher than Thursday's early pricing. There again was plenty of afternoon revisions to mortgage pricing during afternoon trading yesterday, meaning just how much of a revision you will see in today's pricing depends on the size of yesterday's intraday change.The Fed announced an expansion in the current bond buying program early afternoon yesterday. This was unexpected with the regularly scheduled FOMC meeting set for next week. The bond market initially responded heavily in a favorable move for rates. The size of the move was quite surprising and gave hope of finally seeing a change in direction for rates that have been moving higher. Unfortunately, it was short lived and mortgage bonds went into selling mode soon after, leading to upward revisions to rates before the end of the day.The University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment for March was posted at 10:00 AM ET this morning. It came in at 95.9, falling a little short of expectations and well below February's 101.0. The decline means surveyed consumers felt less confident about their own financial situations and, therefore, less likely to make a large purchase in the near future. That makes the data favorable for bonds and mortgage rates, but as we have seen recently, the markets don't seem to be interested in data right now.Next week brings us several economic reports, including the highly important Retail Sales data that tracks consumer spending. There also is the extremely anticipated FOMC meeting when Chairman Powell and friends will try to stabilize the markets and limit the coronavirus impact on our economy. It will be another interesting week for the markets and mortgage rates. Monday has nothing relevant scheduled, so expect weekend news to driving trading. Look for details on next week's calendar and other potential events 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...Float 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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