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Mortgage Rates Erase Yesterday's Spike With Help From Europe

Mortgage rates jumped to the highest levels in 2019 yesterday, even if only by a small margin.  It was one of the few abrupt moves we've seen in recent weeks, relative to the average day-over-day change.  Whereas yesterday's move was abruptly higher, today's rates moved lower at approximately the same pace. 

The European Central Bank (ECB) announcement served as the source of inspiration.  As you'd expect, this was a bigger deal for Europe, but when we're dealing with the world's major central banks, the effects tend to spill over into foreign markets.  This is frequently true between the US and Europe.  Long story short, the ECB echoed many of the same concerns shared by their American counterparts at the Fed in recent weeks.  Specifically, several lingering uncertainties could weigh on global growth.  Furthermore, the ECB expects economic data to deteriorate and inflation to move lower before it moves higher.  Both of those assumptions are good for rates.  

Keep in mind, however, that we're talking about fairly small course corrections in the bigger picture.  At best, rates have been sideways for most of January, but a case could certainly be made that they've been moving gradually higher on average.  Either way, it makes sense to remain defensive when it comes to lock/float decisions until a friendlier trend gains traction.

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