Hurrying Up And Waiting

Hurrying Up And Waiting

As a testament to just how confident the market is/was that neither side is overly interested in escalating the Iran war, Tuesday night's ceasefire deadline has come and gone with surprisingly little fanfare. Yes, the ceasefire was technically extended, but the more relevant point is that oil prices have traded inside a 4 dollar range that covered both the bullish and bearish potential outcomes. We've been saying for several weeks that the next big move for the bond market will be reserved for a truly momentous development such as the complete end of hostilities/blockades or a massive escalation into full-blown war. As it stands, it's a waiting game as Friday is now the earliest window for a potential resumption of peace talks. 

Market Movement Recap
09:27 AM

MBS up 3 ticks (.09) and 10yr down 1.9 bps at 4.276

12:23 PM

MBS now unchanged and 10yr also unchanged at 4.297

03:19 PM

MBS up 2 ticks (.06) and 10yr down 0.3bps at 4.292

Latest Video Analysis

Ceasefire Uncertainty Adds to Losses

MBS & Treasury Markets
UMBS 5.0 99.22 +0.04 10YR 4.294% -0.001% 4/22/2026 3:33PM EST
Selling has been slow and steady since the open.  This alert doesn't indicate a specifically scary dip in prices. Rather, it's a heads up that the modest selling now accounts for an eighth of a point drop versus many lenders' rate sheet print times. As such, negative reprices can't be ruled out for the jumpier lenders. That said, risks would be higher if we lose a few more ticks.    READ MORE
Today's Mortgage Rates
30YR Fixed 6.32% -0.01% 15YR Fixed 5.90% -0.02% 4/22/2026
Rates remain focused on oil prices and war-related developments. With yesterday's ceasefire extension and today's ambiguity over the time frame of that extension, rates are in a distinct holding pattern until the next phase of escalation/de-escalation comes into better focus. For now, the market is generally betting on de-escalation as seen in stocks being near all-time highs and bond yields (aka "rates") being well off the highs seen in late March. In this environment, d...   READ MORE
Economic Calendar
Time Event Period Actual Forecast Prior
Wednesday, Apr 22
7:00AM Apr/17 Mortgage Market Index Apr/17 303.3 281.0
7:00AM Apr/17 MBA Refi Index Apr/17 1023.1 966.8
7:00AM Apr/17 MBA Purchase Index Apr/17 175.6 159.5
10:30AM Apr/17 Crude Oil Inventory (ml) Apr/17 1.925M -1.2M -0.913M
1:00PM 20-Yr Bond Auction (bl) 13
Thursday, Apr 23
8:30AM Apr/11 Continued Claims (k) Apr/11 1820K 1818K
8:30AM Apr/18 Jobless Claims (k) Apr/18 212K 207K
9:45AM Apr S&P Global Services PMI Apr 50 49.8
9:45AM Apr S&P Global Manuf. PMI Apr 52.5 52.3
9:45AM Apr S&P Global Composite PMI Apr 50.3
1:00PM 5-Yr Note Auction (bl) 26
Read My Latest Newsletter
The good news: mortgage rates ended the week at the lowest levels in more than a month. The puzzling news: rates fell only modestly on Friday even though the bond market said they could have fallen more. Mortgage lenders consider several factors when deciding where to set mortgage rates. By far and away, the bond market is the most important of those factors. But sometimes rates don't do exa... READ MORE