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Mortgage Rates Slightly Higher

Mortgage rates moved higher today, but the changes were minimal for most lenders.  Bond markets (which underlie interest rates) have been searching for inspiration recently and largely coming up short.  This morning contained several economic reports and the House passed its tax bill in the afternoon, but none of those events caused much of a stir for bonds.  In fact, all of the bond market movement responsible for today's higher rates occurred during Asian and European trading hours.  When US traders got in for the day, bonds were almost perfectly sideways through 3pm.

With next week bringing the Thanksgiving holiday and with the Senate not even taking up the tax bill debate until the following week (they're out all of next week), it's fair to wonder how much worse the lack of inspiration will get.  The risky thing about these periods of lighter participation and lower conviction in financial markets is that they can result in unexpected and seemingly unjustified volatility.  Lenders also tend to be less aggressive when it comes to offering better rates following bond market improvements.  That generally decreases the benefits of floating in the near term.

This Daily Mortgage Rate Update is provided in partnership with Mortgage News Daily.