No Surprises From Powell. No Major Movement in Rates

No Surprises From Powell. No Major Movement in Rates

As expected, the Fed held rates steady today. The statement was moderately more hawkish in that it acknowledged progress on the labor market front and overall economy. To the very small extent that the statement was hawkish, Powell's press conference could be viewed as counterbalancing due to the non-threatening characterization of inflation and ongoing openness to additional easing if conditions justify it.  Bonds are heading out the door almost exactly in line with opening levels and there wasn't much movement in between.

Market Movement Recap
09:24 AM

Just barely stronger overnight and sideways so far this morning. MBS unchanged and 10yr effectively unchanged at 4.248.

12:38 PM

MBS down 1 tick (.03) and 10yr up 1.3bps at 4.259

03:10 PM

Limited reaction to Fed.  Gaining some ground as Powell presser continues.  MBS up 1 tick (.03) and 10yr unchanged at 4.246

Latest Video Analysis

No Surprises From Powell

MBS & Treasury Markets
UMBS 5.0 100.03 -0.01 10YR 4.236% -0.010% 1/27/2026 9:58PM EST
Newswires follow below.   Here's a link to the before and after. The Fed upgraded econ activity to "solid" from "moderate."  They also said unemployment showed signs of stabilization.  The phrase "downside risks to employment rose in recent months" was removed.  Little else changed apart from housekeeping edits.  There hasn't been much of a reaction in bonds so far, which is as expected.  It's notable that Waller dissented, howeve...   READ MORE
Today's Mortgage Rates
30YR Fixed 6.16% +0.01% 15YR Fixed 5.75% +0.00% 1/28/2026
On some occasions, a rate announcement from the Federal Reserve (even one that results in no change to the Fed Funds Rate) can cause a huge move in mortgage rates . Today was not one of those days, but in its defense, it was never that likely to be. In order for a Fed announcement to have a big impact, it has to surprise the market in some way. A rate cut (or absence thereof) is rarely a surprise these days. Instead, the market is more likely to receive new information via...   READ MORE
Economic Calendar
Time Event Period Actual Forecast Prior
Wednesday, Jan 28
7:00AM Jan/23 MBA Refi Index Jan/23 1332.2 1580.8
7:00AM Jan/23 MBA Purchase Index Jan/23 193.3 194.1
7:00AM Jan/23 Mortgage Market Index Jan/23 363.3 397.2
10:30AM Jan/23 Crude Oil Inventory (ml) Jan/23 -2.296M 1.75M 3.602M
11:30AM 2-Year FRN Auction (%) 0.099% 0.139%
11:30AM 2-Yr Note Auction (bl) 30
2:00PM Fed Interest Rate Decision 3.75% 3.75% 3.75%
2:30PM Fed Press Conference
2:30PM Powell Press Conference
Thursday, Jan 29
8:30AM Nov Trade Gap (bl) Nov $-40.5B $-29.4B
8:30AM Jan/17 Continued Claims (k) Jan/17 1860K 1849K
8:30AM Jan/24 Jobless Claims (k) Jan/24 205K 200K
9:20AM NY Fed Bill Purchases 1 to 4 months (%) $8.304 billion
10:00AM Nov Factory orders mm (%) Nov 1.6% -1.3%
1:00PM 7-Yr Note Auction (bl) 44
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Mortgage rates pulled back this week as the bond market digested geopolitical tension. After the 3-day holiday weekend, traders returned to find overseas markets pushing bond yields higher. The lesser of the two motivations had to do with fallout over fiscal issues in Japan which prompted heavy selling of Japanese bonds. There is often a certain amount of correlation between the sovereign ... READ MORE