Rate Lock Advisory

Wednesday, June 26th

Wednesday’s bond market has opened in negative territory, partly due to this morning’s economic news. Stocks are showing moderate gains, pushing the Dow up 54 points and the Nasdaq up 66 points. The bond market is currently down 10/32 (2.02%), which should push this morning’s mortgage rates higher by approximately .125 of a discount point.

10/32

Bonds

30 yr - 2.02%

54

Dow

26,602

66

NASDAQ

7,951

Mortgage Rate Trend

Trailing 90 Days - National Average

  • 30 Year Fixed
  • 15 Year Fixed
  • 5/1 ARM

Indexes Affecting Rate Lock

Medium

Negative

Fed Talk

Yesterday’s afternoon event with Fed Chairman Powell did more harm than good for mortgage rates. While he did not say anything that was a significant surprise, he also did not give a clear signal that a Fed rate cut is coming soon. The markets were anticipating a direct assurance that one is needed. He indicated that it was a possibility based on current and future conditions but was not as clear as market participants were hoping. That led to some pressure in bonds during afternoon trading yesterday. Fortunately, it was not enough of a move to cause an intraday rate change and bonds were able to recover some of the knee-jerk reaction before the end of the day.

High

Negative

Durable Goods Orders

This morning’s sole economic report was May's Durable Goods Orders at 8:30 AM ET. The Commerce Department announced a 1.3% decline in new orders of products such as airplanes, appliances and electronics. That was a larger decline than expected, making the headline number good news for bonds and mortgage rates. However, a secondary reading that excludes more volatile and costly transportation-related orders came in stronger than expected. Because this is considered to be a fairly highly important report, it has had a negative impact on trading this morning.

Medium

Unknown

Treasury Auctions (5,7,10,30 year securities)

We also have the first of this week’s two Treasury auctions that have the potential to influence mortgage rates. 5-year Treasury Notes will be sold today, followed by 7-year Notes tomorrow. These sales can possibly impact broader bond trading enough to affect mortgage rates if they show strong or weak investor demand. If the sales are met with a strong demand, we could see bond prices rise during afternoon trading today and/or tomorrow. This could lead to an afternoon improvement to mortgage rates. On the other hand, if the sales draw a lackluster interest from investors, mortgage rates may move slightly higher.

Low

Unknown

GDP Rev 2 (month after Rev 1)

In addition to the weekly unemployment update, tomorrow brings us the second revision to the 1st Quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reading. The GDP is the sum of all products and services produced in the U.S. and is considered to be the best measurement of economic growth or contraction. However, this particular data is quite aged now (covers January through March) and will likely have little impact on the bond market or mortgage pricing unless it varies greatly from previous readings. Market participants are looking more towards next month's release of the current quarter's initial GDP reading. Last month's first revision showed a 3.1% annual rate of growth. Tomorrow’s update is expected to show the same. A larger increase in the GDP would be considered negative for rates as it means stronger economic activity.

Float / Lock Recommendation

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.



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