June 15th, 2018 1:14 PM by T. Fanning
Last Updated: 6/15/18Friday's bond market has opened in positive territory with stocks showing sizable losses after new tariffs on some goods from China were announced. The Dow is currently down 167 points while the Nasdaq has lost 31 points. The bond market is currently up 9/32 2.90%), which should improve this morning's mortgage rates by .125 of a discount point is comparing to Thursday's early pricing.May's Industrial Production data was posted at 9:15 AM ET this morning. It showed a 0.1% decline in output at U.S. factories, mines and utilities last month. This was weaker than forecasts of a 0.2% increase and hints at softer manufacturing activity. Since the report showed a weaker number than expected, we can consider the data favorable for bonds and mortgage rates.The final release of the week was June's preliminary reading to the University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment at 10:00 AM ET. It came in at 99.3, up from May's final reading of 98.0 and higher than the predicted 98.8. The increase means more surveyed consumers felt better about their own financial and employment situations than did last month. That is bad news for bonds and mortgage rates because rising confidence usually translates into stronger levels of consumer spending that fuels economic growth.Next week has little scheduled that is expected to affect mortgage rates. There are a couple of housing-related economic reports mid-week but not much more than that. Monday has nothing set, so we can expect weekend news or stock movement to be the biggest influence on mortgage rates as the week starts. Look for details on 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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