Welcome to the Total Mortgage Current Mortgage Rates Blog. There’s some economic data out today, but first, your daily mortgage rate forecast/advice.
Where are mortgage rates going?
French Presidential Debate Causes Brief Bond Rally
With little domestic data out this week, investors are taking their cues from foreign developments. Last night was the first debate between top five contenders in the French Presidential Election, with the focus being on the National Front’s Marine Le Pen and the rookie front-runner Emmanuel Macron.
Investors have been fearing that Le Pen, who has openly said she will issue a referendum to leave the E.U. if elected, will come out victorious on April 23. A Frexit could very well mean the end for E.U., and that’s something that many major investors would prefer to avoid.
Click here to get today’s latest mortgage rates (Mar. 21, 2017).So far during the French presidential campaign, signs of Le Pen gaining traction with voters has caused U.S. Treasury yields and mortgage rates to decline. However, this time around it was the opposite. With Macron putting on a strong showing (according to several viewer polls), investors relaxed a bit, causing Treasury yields and mortgage rates to rise.
The gains were short lived, though, as the yield on the 10-year Treasury note quickly dipped down about 5 basis points around 9:30am this morning. Mortgage rates typically trail behind the 10-year yield, so that’s good news for borrowers.
Fedspeak
Yesterday, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans came out and said that he sees the U.S. economy on track for two more rate hikes this year, possibly three if inflation starts to pick up. Today we hear from four more Fed officials, and it will be interesting to see if they echo Evans’ comments. Investors were disappointed last week when the FOMC came off less aggressive in their dot-plot projections than expected.
Click here to get today’s latest mortgage rates (Mar. 21, 2017).It might be unreasonable for financial market participants to think that Fed officials will come out swinging immediately after a meeting where they came off a little dovish, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they tried to began to poke at the idea of faster tightening. That seems to be what Evans was doing: stand strong on two but leave the door open for three.
New York Fed President William Dudley spoke in London today (early this morning east coast time) but his remarks didn’t touch upon future monetary policy adjustments in the U.S. Instead, he spoke at length about the current banking culture in America, and what could be done to change it for the better.
What does this mean for me?
Mortgage rates continue to remain lower today, and are on track to post a big drop in this week’s Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That means right now is a great time for anyone looking to lock in a rate on a purchase or a refinance.
Today’s economic data:
- Fedspeak
Notable events this week:
Monday:
- Fedspeak
Tuesday:
- Fedspeak
Wednesday:
- Existing Home Sales
- EIA Petroleum Status Report
Thursday:
- Fedspeak
- Jobless Claims
- New Home Sales
Friday:
- Fedspeak
- Durable Goods Orders
- PMI Composite Flash
from Total Mortgage Underwritings Blog http://ift.tt/2nwM4RW
No comments:
Post a Comment