Bonds Almost Hold Onto Gains Ahead of Shutdown Uncertainty

Bonds Almost Hold Onto Gains Ahead of Shutdown Uncertainty

Bonds improved moderately overnight, adding onto what was already a fairly substantial recovery yesterday.  The morning's PCE data was slightly lower than expected, but bonds didn't seem unequivocally happy about that.  There was a modest extension of the rally and then a slow give-back into the PM hours.  Trading was very flat near unchanged levels after noon ET.  Month/Quarter-end tradeflows are assumed to be underpinning some of the volatility of the past 3 days, as is the uncertainty surrounding the government shutdown.  The most direct implication for bonds is that  they must navigate the most important data week of the month without the most important data (no jobs report or JOLTS next week due to the shutdown).

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Decent Day Despite Late Weakness

MBS & Treasury Markets
UMBS 6.0 98.64 -0.09 10YR 4.575% -0.004% 9/29/2023 5:00PM EST
MBS aren't any weaker than they were just before the noon hour, but that weakness is relatively more liquid now.  It's also accompanied by the highs of the day in Treasury yields with 10s up to 4.58+ after being as low as 4.51 this morning. The losses aren't huge and the pace of selling has been gentle, but lenders that came out with aggressive rate sheets or simply those who are normally quick to reprice are slightly more likely to consider pulling the trigger.    READ MORE
Today's Mortgage Rates
30YR Fixed 7.44% -0.16% 15YR Fixed 6.75% -0.14% 9/29/2023
It depends quite a bit on the lender in question, but at some point between yesterday morning and this morning, the average lender dropped rates at the fastest single-day pace in months. Before you get excited, there's a catch--two or three of them actually. The first catch is that some lenders split that improvement between yesterday afternoon and this morning.  The more general catch is that these sorts of "biggest drop in a long time" observations are almost always ...   READ MORE
Economic Calendar
Time Event Period Actual Forecast Prior
Friday, Sep 29
8:30AM Aug Core PCE Inflation (y/y) (%) Aug 3.9% 3.9% 4.2%
8:30AM Aug Core PCE (m/m) (%) Aug 0.1% 0.2% 0.2%
8:30AM Aug PCE price index mm (%) Aug 0.4% 0.5% 0.2%
8:30AM Aug PCE (y/y) (%) Aug 3.5% 3.5% 3.3%
8:30AM Aug Inflation-Adjusted Spending (Consumption) (%) Aug 0.4% 0.4% 0.8%
8:30AM Aug Personal Income (%) Aug 0.4% 0.4% 0.2%
8:30AM Aug Retail Inventories Ex Autos MoM Adv Aug 0.6% 0%
8:30AM Aug Goods Trade Balance Adv Aug $-84.27B $-91.18B
8:30AM Aug Wholesale inventories mm (%) Aug -0.1% -0.2%
9:45AM Sep Chicago PMI Sep 44.1 47.6 48.7
10:00AM Sep Michigan Consumer Expectations Final Sep 66 66.3 65.5
10:00AM Sep U Mich conditions Sep 71.4 69.8 75.7
10:00AM Sep Sentiment: 5y Inflation (%) Sep 2.8% 2.7% 3%
10:00AM Sep Consumer Sentiment (ip) Sep 68.1 67.7 69.5
10:00AM Sep Sentiment: 1y Inflation (%) Sep 3.2% 3.1% 3.5%
12:00PM Sep Quarterly Grain Stocks - Corn Sep 1.361B 1.429B 4.106B
12:00PM Sep Quarterly Grain Stocks - Soy Sep 0.268B 0.242B 0.796B
12:00PM Sep Quarterly Grain Stocks - Wheat Sep 1.78B 1.772B 0.58B
12:45PM Fed Williams Speech
1:00PM Sep/29 Baker Hughes Oil Rig Count Sep/29 502 507
1:00PM Sep/29 Baker Hughes Total Rig Count Sep/29 623 630
Monday, Oct 02
9:45AM Sep S&P Global Manuf. PMI Sep 48.9 47.9
10:00AM Sep ISM Mfg Prices Paid Sep 48.6 48.4
10:00AM Sep ISM Manufacturing New Orders Sep 46.8
10:00AM Aug Construction spending (%) Aug 0.5% 0.7%
10:00AM Sep ISM Manufacturing Employment Sep 48.3 48.5
10:00AM Sep ISM Manufacturing PMI Sep 47.7 47.6
11:00AM Fed Chair Powell Speech
11:00AM Fed Harker Speech
11:30AM 26-Week Bill Auction (bl) 71
11:30AM 3-Month Bill Auction 5.33%
11:30AM 6-Month Bill Auction 5.315%
11:30AM 26-Week Bill Auction (bl) 64
1:00PM Fed Barr Speech
1:30PM Fed Williams Speech
7:30PM Fed Mester Speech
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It's nearly impossible to consume any news these days without coming across the government shutdown. As of Friday afternoon, the shutdown looks like it will be a thing.  Even if it's miraculously avoided in the 11th hour, we can still discuss some objective questions and conclusions about shutdowns in general.  As always, we're not interested in the politics of the matter--just the quest... READ MORE