Mortgage rates moved lower for the second straight day after rising moderately on Friday and Monday.  This brings the average lender to the second lowest levels in almost exactly 1 year.  The only day with lower rates was January 31st, 2019 (last Thursday). 

Yesterday was important in the sense that it helped make a case for a short-term ceiling in rates.  All bets were off as to where we might see such a ceiling after a round of strong economic data on Friday (stronger data tends to push rates higher).  Today is just as important as it confirms the resilience wasn't a fluke.  Granted, things can change quickly when it comes to financial markets, but it's currently easiest to make a case for sideways momentum for the time being.

This "wait and see" approach would ideally allow investors to digest all the incoming economic data missed during the government shutdown.  By mid-March, they'll be fully caught up on the data and will also get another major update from the Federal Reserve.  As such, that would be the time frame where we'd expect to see rates making bigger moves in the bigger picture.