• Friday’s mortgage rates should be lower than Thursday’s early pricing by approximately .125 - .250 of a discount point due to a strong bond rally late yesterday. The bond market is currently down 7/32 (4.49%).

 • Stocks are mixed with the Dow up 124 points and the Nasdaq down 2 points.

 • Yesterday’s 30-year Treasury Bond auction was uneventful with the benchmarks showing a slightly softer demand than Wednesday’s 10-year Note sale. We are labeling the sale as neutral for mortgage rates since it had nothing to do with yesterday’s big rally in bonds.

 • What caused yesterday afternoon’s rally was news from President Trump that a peace deal with Iran could be signed as early as this weekend. That caught the markets off-guard because the recent attacks back and forth led many to believe a deal was not close.

 • It is worth noting that we have been down this road several times since the war started, then no deal is reached. Also noteworthy is that sources from Iran are publicly saying they have not agreed to any deal with the U.S. yet.

 • When that news started to spread, oil prices dropped, stocks and bonds rallied and mortgage rates moved lower. If a peace deal does get signed this weekend, we should see another improvement in rates Monday morning.

 • On the other hand, if this was more of false hope, we could see bonds give back more of yesterday’s rally Monday morning. We are already getting conflicting statements this morning from Iranian news outlets that denies there is an agreement and there is no signing planned for Sunday. So, we will see what happens this weekend.

 • Today’s sole relevant economic release came from the University of Michigan, who posted their preliminary Index of Consumer Sentiment for June at 10:00 AM ET. They announced a reading of 48.9 that was much higher than May’s 44.8 and well above forecasts of 46.0. This means surveyed consumers feel much better about their own financial situations than they did last month and are more likely to fuel economic growth by spending money.

 • Next week starts with minor reports being released Monday and Tuesday morning (Industrial Production and Housing Starts), leaving weekend Middle East news to be the strongest influence on the markets those days.

 • Things will get real interesting Wednesday with the release of a major consumer spending report in the morning, followed by an afternoon of Fed events. This FOMC meeting includes revised economic projections and key rate predictions (dot plot).

 • After Wednesday’s FOMC events, there is little set for the remaining days.

 • Look for details on all of next week’s calendar in Sunday evening’s weekly preview.

 • Visit our Daily Commentary page on our site for detailed explanations on current news that is relevant to mortgage rates.

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If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.