SVP - Area Manager
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp.
License:
208371

Solid Bond Rally For Debatable Reasons

Solid Bond Rally For Debatable Reasons

Bonds improved moderately well overnight and added to those gains steadily during the domestic session.  Ask 10 traders why and you might not get 10 different answers, but it would be at least 5. Improvement in the tariff outlook is a common refrain, but forex markets suggest that's not a huge motivation.  Still, one could argue that a more sober approach is restoring some confidence for bond traders. One could also argue that traders are positioning for economic fallout with next week being the big week for econ data. Then there's the notion that moving through the Treasury auction cycle was helpful, but it's not as if traders didn't know that ahead of time. Last but not least, a comment from Fed's Hammack (saying the Fed could move in June) did align with some of this morning's improvement, but not in a way that accounts for an entire day's worth of gains. Perhaps we'll have to dust off the "no news is good news" thesis and simply conclude it makes sense for bonds to be consolidating in the pre-tariff range until we get a clearer sense of policy and the economy's response to it.

Latest Video Analysis

Solid Bonds Rally For Debatable Reasons

MBS & Treasury Markets
UMBS 5.5 99.32 +0.14 10YR 4.293% -0.028% 4/25/2025 10:11AM EST
What's "normal" for the bond market? That depends how far back you want to look.  Starting in late February, we had about a month of mostly sideways movement in a relatively narrow range as we waited for clarity on new fiscal policies and economic data. The tariff roll-out shook things up, to be sure, but for more than a week now, yields have been back in the same old "normal" pattern. So what's next? That's a good question. It could be a big policy shift, or economic da...   READ MORE
Today's Mortgage Rates
30YR Fixed 6.92% -0.02% 15YR Fixed 6.30% +0.01% 4/24/2025
Mortgage rates continue the slow, bumpy process of healing from the rapid rise seen 2 weeks ago. Last week was a solid victory in that sense with rates moving steadily and meaningfully lower without any major rebounds. The present week started out on shakier footing as rates lurched higher on Monday. Fortunately, the sailing has been smoother since then. Today was actually the best day of the week so far for the underlying bond market. Most of the improvement happened in o...   READ MORE
Economic Calendar
Time Event Period Actual Forecast Prior
Friday, Apr 25
10:00AM Apr U Mich conditions Apr 59.8 56.5 63.8
10:00AM Apr Consumer Sentiment (ip) Apr 52.2 50.8 57.0
10:00AM Apr Sentiment: 5y Inflation (%) Apr 4.4% 4.4% 4.1%
10:00AM Apr Sentiment: 1y Inflation (%) Apr 6.5% 6.7% 5%
Monday, Apr 28
3:00PM Treasury Refunding Financing Estimates (%)
3:00PM 10-Year Note Auction
3:00PM Treasury Refunding Financing Estimates (%)
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Last week, there was a curious, but not uncommon juxtaposition of widespread headlines claiming "lower mortgage rates" and our own headlines suggesting one of the biggest weekly jumps in years.  Neither were incorrect, but only one was timely. Survey-based, weekly data served as fuel for the "lower rate" headlines because it failed to capture most of the rate spike. The methodology, which ... READ MORE
SVP - Area Manager
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp.
License:
208371