This week hadn't been too traumatic for mortgage rates through yesterday afternoon, but neither had it been positive in any noticeable way.  That changed today as rates fell abruptly to the lowest levels since last Monday.  Granted, at the time, last Monday's rates were still pretty close to the worst in 7 years, but the point is that we've managed to find our way back from the even higher rates that followed.

Help came chiefly from European political developments where Italy is a day or two away from confirming a government that could end up pushing the country out of the Eurozone.  Even though that's far from guaranteed, the mere risk of such a thing is enough to drive investors toward safer haven bonds like those issued by Germany or the US.  In general, excess demand for bonds means rates move lower.