Chris Munson
SVP and Managing Director US Sales and Operations
The Money House

Why Bonds Are Rallying Despite Higher Oil Prices

Why Bonds Are Rallying Despite Higher Oil Prices

Today's most notable development was a fairly large bond rally despite another uptick in oil prices. The leading explanation, by far, is the general notion that investors are increasingly worried about the economic impact of higher oil prices. There is no clean way to measure this in the short term, and even those espousing the notion are reluctant to conclude that it marks a turning point in the broader sell-off. For now, it was a nice way to start the week, even if it also drew strength from the positioning considerations discussed this morning.

Market Movement Recap
08:57 AM

Stronger overnight and flat so far. MBS up 3/8ths and 10yr down 6.7bps at 4.367

11:42 AM

best levels of the day with MBS up 5/8ths and 10yr down 10.6bps at 4.327

01:52 PM

Down an eighth from intraday highs, but still up 14 ticks (.44) on the day. 10yr still down 9bps at 4.345

04:20 PM

MBS up only 11 ticks now (down a quarter from highs). 10yr down 8.4bps at 4.35

Latest Video Analysis

Why Bonds Are Rallying Despite Higher Oil Prices

MBS & Treasury Markets
UMBS 5.0 98.10 +0.24 10YR 4.388% -0.046% 3/29/2026 11:39PM EST
MBS are still up 3/8ths on the day, but down roughly a quarter point from AM highs. Lenders who priced/repriced during those highs are increasingly likely to be considering negative reprices.  Lenders who did not reprice for the better today are not as likely to be considering reprices.    READ MORE
Today's Mortgage Rates
30YR Fixed 6.55% -0.09% 15YR Fixed 6.12% -0.03% 3/30/2026
The bad news is that the average top-tier 30yr fixed rate remains over 6.5% after being under 6% just a month ago. The good news is that rates recovered nicely over the weekend.  By Friday afternoon, the average rate was 6.64%--the highest since August 2025--adding to a trend of rapid upward movement over the course of March. While there's no way to know if a bigger picture corner has been turned, it's a victory in the short term. Notably, the underlying bond market ...   READ MORE
Economic Calendar
Time Event Period Actual Forecast Prior
Monday, Mar 30
9:20AM NY Fed Bill Purchases 4 to 12 months (%) $6.726 billion
10:30AM Fed Chair Powell Speech
4:00PM Fed Williams Speech
Tuesday, Mar 31
9:00AM Jan FHFA Home Price Index m/m (%) Jan 0.1% 0.1%
9:00AM Jan CaseShiller 20 mm nsa (%) Jan -0.1%
9:00AM Jan FHFA Home Prices y/y (%) Jan 1.8%
9:00AM Jan Case Shiller Home Prices-20 y/y (% ) Jan 1.3% 1.4%
9:45AM Mar Chicago PMI Mar 55.8 57.7
10:00AM Feb JOLTs Job Quits (ml) Feb 3.1M
10:00AM Mar CB Consumer Confidence (%) Mar 88 91.2
10:00AM Feb USA JOLTS Job Openings (ml) Feb 6.87M 6.946M
12:00PM Fed Goolsbee Speech
12:00PM Fed Goolsbee Speech
3:00PM Fed Barr Speech
Read My Latest Newsletter
The Iran war continues to dominate financial markets and mortgage rates are no exception. That's no great surprise considering rates are driven by movement in the bond market. Still, the direction of the movement may be a surprise to some. All else equal, things that cause economic pain and uncertainty tend to be good for rates because they drive investors out of riskier assets like stocks and ... READ MORE
Chris Munson
SVP and Managing Director US Sales and Operations
The Money House