Mortgage rates improved by what could only be described as a token amount today.  In other words, we're not talking about any major changes.  In fact, mortgage rates themselves will be unchanged from Friday for almost any scenario.  As is so often the case, we can only measure the change in terms of "effective rates" (which take upfront costs into consideration).  In general, changes in mortgage rates are reserved for big market moves whereas upfront costs and effective rates allow for smaller changes in the overall cost of financing.

The bond markets that underlie mortgage rates were closed yesterday for the Veterans Day holiday.  In the meantime, the stock market lost ground rather abruptly.  At times, bonds (rates) will take cues from stocks--especially when the latter is making a big move lower.  As such, bonds began the week with a boost.  This is why I referred to mortgage rate gains rather cynically (because the actual market movement suggested a better showing today).

Bond markets and mortgage lenders could both be a bit apprehensive ahead of tomorrow's important inflation report, the Consumer Price Index.  If inflation comes in much stronger than expected, it should put noticeable upward pressure on rates.  Conversely, weaker inflation could help the recent trend of improvement continue unless the stock market is staging a huge comeback for an unrelated reason.