Mel's Blog

Friday's bond market has opened in positive territory, continuing yesterday afternoon's rally. The stock markets are mixed with the Dow up 25 points and the Nasdaq down 9 points. The bond market is currently up 69 basis points, which should improve this morning's mortgage rates. Today's only relevant economic data came from the University of Michigan who posted their Index of Consumer Sentiment for June late this morning. It revealed a reading of 69.0 that fell between last month's final reading of 68.7 and forecasts of 69.5. This means surveyed consumers were a little more optimistic about their own financial situations than last month, but slightly less optimistic than analysts had expected. But the difference between forecasts and the actual reading was not wide enough to influence bond trading or mortgage rates this morning. Today's buying in bonds is a carryover from yesterday's rally that began when the results of the 30-year Bond auction were posted. The sale was met with a very strong demand, making existing securities more attractive to investors. If that momentum can carry into next week, we should see mortgage rates recover even more of their recent increases. Next week is fairly active in terms of economic releases with relevant data being posted three of the five days. There are two key inflation readings on the calendar that will likely be the biggest news of the week, but none of the relevant news is scheduled to be released Monday. Mel