While benchmark interest rates continue to chop around in a contained range, mortgage-backed securities have moved sideways, failing to make much progress in either direction. Although we have experience a few moments of added volatility, tight trading ranges have kept and generally "topped out"...
Trading action in the rates market yesterday was similiar to the previous session: early morning weakness, followed by a move higher in the lunch hour, which was then lost heading into the close. News and events were fairly positive for the fixed income sector which helped spark the move higher in price...
Over the past few month I have been using a very well defined strategy to gauge lock/float opportunities. The idea is to lock when mortgage backed securities approach their recent range's price highs, and float when MBS are near the bottom of their recent price range. This "play the range"...
In honor of Veteran’s Day, the fixed income market was closed yesterday. A few lenders did issue rate sheets, most were priced conservatively, which is a common strategy on bank holidays. After a slow start to the week, we finally got some economic data to digest this morning. First out was the...
Despite benchmark Treasury rates moving higher last week, prices of mortgage-backed securities managed to hold their ground, allowing mortgage rates to maintain status quo in their recent range. To remind readers, as prices of mortgage-backed securities move higher, lenders are able to pass along lower...
The Federal Reserve released their statement on monetary policy and economic outlook yesterday. Although there were some changes to the text of the statement, markets got what they were expecting. The FOMC held the Fed funds rate at its current level and gave a cautiously optimistic outlook on the economy...
The Department of Labor this morning released the Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims report, also known as Jobless Claims. This data set tracks new filings for unemployment insurance benefits and the number of Americans who continue to receive state unemployment benefits (called continuing claims or...
Mortgage rates fell a few basis points yesterday as benchmark Treasury yields moved lower in the range. The extended rally in the rates market helped MBS prices tick higher which eventually resulted in lenders repricing for the better. An above average turnout at the 5yr note auction combined with an...
Recap of Yesterday New Home Sales Fall for First Time in Six Months READ MORE Sept Durable Goods Orders +1.0% vs -2.6% revised lower August read. Right on expectations 5yr TSY auction goes off well. 2.63 bid to cover, 2.388% high yield READ MORE Rates extend rally. FN 4.5 breaks into 101 price handle...
The well defined range we have followed to gauge our lock/float sentiment is being challenged. Since the range proved itself a reliable indicator of demand for debt in the benchmark fixed income market, we have advised consumers to lock when mortgage prices were near the high side of the range and to...