Juxtaposition of Escalation and De-escalation Keeping Bonds Volatile

Juxtaposition of Escalation and De-escalation Keeping Bonds Volatile

Tuesday was notable for financial markets' attempts to trade the Iran war due to the conspicuous juxtaposition of newswires that spoke to opposing developments. Around 1pm ET, troop deployment news sent yields to the highs of the day. A little over an hour later, the newswires gave the impression that the war was almost over--so much so that bonds were willing to retrace most of the 1pm losses. Nonetheless, yields were already elevated by 1pm, which means it was a weaker trading session overall. Material developments in the war will continue to be more actionable for markets than scheduled economic data--especially this week. 

Latest Video Analysis

Juxtaposition of War Headlines Keeping Bonds Volatile

MBS & Treasury Markets
UMBS 5.0 98.40 +0.07 10YR 4.348% -0.017% 3/25/2026 3:54AM EST
Apparently, bonds aren't quite done responding to escalation/de-escalation headlines for the day, and the latest examples are having the biggest impact.  ISRAELI CHANNEL 12: ONE-MONTH CEASEFIRE TO BE ANNOUNCED UNDER MECHANISM BEING DEVELOPED BY WITKOFF & KUSHNER MBS are quickly back up to unchanged levels. Same story for 10yr yields, now unchanged at 4.346.   READ MORE
Today's Mortgage Rates
30YR Fixed 6.55% +0.06% 15YR Fixed 6.12% +0.07% 3/24/2026
March 2026 continues to be an unpleasant month for mortgage rates --a fact almost exclusively due to the Iran war. Even if the war were to end today, there's been sufficient disruption to infrastructure and a big enough initial spike in energy prices to create what economists refer to as "second round effects." In simpler terms, this means that inflation expectations and interest rates will not immediately return to February's levels simply because the war is over. That'...   READ MORE
Economic Calendar
Time Event Period Actual Forecast Prior
Wednesday, Mar 25
7:00AM Mar/20 MBA Refi Index Mar/20 1341.0
7:00AM Mar/20 MBA Purchase Index Mar/20 172.9
7:00AM Mar/20 Mortgage Market Index Mar/20 347.1
8:30AM Feb Import prices mm (%) Feb 0.5% 0.2%
10:30AM Mar/20 Crude Oil Inventory (ml) Mar/20 0.5M 6.156M
11:30AM 2-Yr Note Auction (bl) 28
11:30AM 2-Year FRN Auction (%) 0.099%
1:00PM 5-Yr Note Auction (bl) 70
4:10PM Fed Miran Speech
Thursday, Mar 26
8:30AM Mar/21 Jobless Claims (k) Mar/21 210K 205K
8:30AM Mar/14 Continued Claims (k) Mar/14 1860K 1857K
9:20AM NY Fed Bill Purchases 1 to 4 months (%) $8.071 billion
1:00PM 7-Yr Note Auction (bl) 44
4:00PM Fed Cook Speech
6:30PM Fed Miran Speech
7:00PM Fed Jefferson Speech
7:10PM Fed Barr Speech
Read My Latest Newsletter
While the word "regime" is often seen in a geopolitical context, it's also common in financial markets. With respect to rates, the most recent regime involved steady improvement starting in May 2025 and ending 3 weeks ago. Since then, a new regime has been taking over and it kicked into high gear this week. Under the previous regime, bonds (which dictate rates) were operating on the following p... READ MORE