Mortgage rates moved higher today, and it had nothing to do with any of the day's events or news headlines.  Quite simply put, the bond market (which dictates the rates that can offered by lenders) had already begun to weaken as of yesterday afternoon.  Weakness continued overnight as global financial markets dialed back their demand for safe havens.

In market terms, a safe haven is generally a lower rate of return with a higher guarantee of the return remaining stable.  Fixed rate government bonds from financially solvent countries are a classic safe haven.  And no matter what you've heard in the news, the US mortgage market is also squarely in the safe haven camp.  The only major risk associated with mortgages as far as investors are concerned is how long the mortgage will last.  That uncertainty surrounding cash flow time-frames means mortgage rates are higher than Treasury yields with comparable life-spans.  Nonetheless, investors know the average life span of a pool of vanilla mortgages will be 5-10 years.  They know they'll get their principal and interest back.  Therefore, it's a safe haven (unlike a stock that could easily lose money if it the stock declines in value).

Safe haven demand has been waxing and waning as the broader market settles in to a new range following the big shake-up in early August.  Today was just another minor fluctuation in that regard, but the timing issue (bond market weakness yesterday afternoon followed by more this morning) made for a noticeable adjustment from mortgage lenders.  The next big potential flashpoint will be Friday's Jackson Hole speech from Fed Chair Powell.