September 2nd, 2019 6:16 PM by T. Fanning
Last Updated: 8/30/19Friday's bond market has opened in negative territory again despite a bit of favorable economic data. The major stock indexes are showing moderate gains, pushing the Dow higher by 93 points and the Nasdaq up 2 points. The bond market is currently down 4/32 (1.51%), but we shouldn't see too much of a change in this morning's mortgage rates if comparing to Thursday's early pricing.Yesterday's 7-year Treasury Note auction went relatively poorly, especially if comparing to Wednesday's 5-year Note sale. The benchmarks we use to gauge investor demand showed a weak level of interest in the securities. Bonds weakened after results were posted at 1:00 PM ET, but not enough to have a noticeable impact on mortgage rates.July's Personal Income and Outlays report was released at 8:30 AM ET this morning. It gave us mixed results with an increase in income of only 0.1% and a 0.6% rise in spending. The income reading fell short of the 0.4% that was expected, indicating consumers had less money to spend. However, the bad news was that they spent more than predicted as forecasts were calling for a 0.5% increase in outlays. Those readings more or less offset themselves and since the inflation index within the data showed no surprises at up 0.2%, we can consider this report neutral for bonds and mortgage rates.Today's favorable report was the University of Michigan's revised Index of Consumer Sentiment for August. It came in at 89.8, falling well short of the 92.2 that was expected. This was a decline from the preliminary reading of 92.1, meaning surveyed consumers were not as optimistic about their own financial situations as previously thought. Because waning confidence usually translates into weaker levels of consumer spending, we can consider this report good news for bonds and mortgage rates.Next week brings us some very important economic data. It starts with the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) manufacturing index Tuesday (markets are closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday) and ends with the almighty monthly Employment report Friday morning. In between are several less important reports that still carry enough significance to affect mortgage rates if they show surprises. Look for details on all of next week's calendar 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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