September 27th, 2019 12:04 PM by T. Fanning
Last Updated: 9/27/19Friday's bond market has opened in positive territory following mixed economic news. The stock markets are relatively calm with the Dow up 22 points and the Nasdaq down 28 points. The bond market is currently unchanged from yesterday's close (1.69%), but we may still see a slight improvement in this morning's mortgage pricing.The first of this morning's batch of economic data was August's Durable Goods Orders at 8:30 AM ET. The Commerce Department announced a 0.2% increase in new orders for big-ticket items such as airplanes, appliances and electronics. That was stronger than the 1.3% decline that was expected, indicating a stronger than thought manufacturing sector. However, because this data is known to be pretty volatile from month to month, the size of the variance between forecasts and the actual results isn't nearly as important as it would be in other data. Still, the increase in the headline number and a secondary reading that excludes airplane and transportation-related orders that came in stronger than expected means that the data is bad news for bonds and mortgage rates.The other early morning release was August's Personal Income and Outlays report. It showed that personal income rose 0.4% while spending rose 0.1% last month. The income reading pegged expectations while the spending reading was noticeably lower than forecasts of a 0.3% increase. The spending reading and an inflation index within the data that came in slightly below expectations allows us to consider this report favorable for mortgage rates.Today's final release was the revised University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for September. It came in at 93.2, up from the previous reading of 92.0 and a bit higher than expectations. That means that surveyed consumers were a little more confident in their own financial and employment situations than previously thought. Since higher levels of confidence usually translates into stronger levels of consumer spending that fuels economic growth, the data is unfavorable for mortgage rates.Next week brings us several important reports that are expected to influence the financial markets and mortgage rates, some heavily. The week starts off with nothing scheduled Monday, the only day of the week without at least one event listed. We will get a key manufacturing index Tuesday and the almighty monthly Employment report Friday. In between are a couple of other releases that have the potential to affect rates. Look for details on all of next week's activities in Sunday evenings weekly preview.If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would....Lock if my closing were taking place within 7 days...Float 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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