


• Wednesday’s mortgage rates should be lower by approximately .125 of a discount point. The bond market is currently up 6/32 (4.66%).
• Stocks are mixed again with the Dow down 16 points and the Nasdaq up 157 points.
• This morning’s big news was the release of July's Consumer Price Index (CPI) that showed no surprises. It revealed a 0.1% increase in the overall reading and a 0.2% rise in the core data that excludes food and energy costs.
• On an annual basis, the overall reading grew at a 3.4% annual pace while the core reading was at 2.5%. Both of the year over year numbers were down 0.1% from June’s rate.
• All of this morning’s CPI readings matched expectations, indicating consumer level inflation grew modestly last month and slowed similarly from this time last year. We are likely seeing a positive response to the data because it did not come in stronger than expected.
• We also have today’s 10-year Treasury Note auction to watch that will tell us how investors feel about long-term debt right now. Results of the sale will be posted at 1:00 PM ET, making this an early afternoon event for rates. If the results point to a strong demand from investors, particularly international buyers, we could see bonds extend this morning’s gains during afternoon trading. That could lead to a slight downward revision to mortgage rates before the end of the day.
• Tomorrow brings us another important inflation reading along with the weekly unemployment update. Both will be posted at 8:30 AM ET.
• July’s Producer Price Index (PPI) will tell us inflationary pressures at the wholesale level of the economy rather than this morning’s consumer reading. Analysts are predicting an increase of 0.2% in the overall index and a rise of 0.3% in the core data for July, with annual rates falling more than this morning’s version showed.
• Good news for rates should be softer PPI readings, both monthly and annually, partly because stronger wholesale inflation often carries into the consumer level of the economy eventually.
• They are expected to show 202,000 new claims for jobless benefits were filed, up from the previous week’s 199,000 initial filings. Rising claims are a sign of weakness in the employment sector, meaning a larger than predicted number would be favorable for mortgage rates.
• Today’s Treasury auction scenario will be repeated tomorrow when 30-year Bonds are being auctioned. Results of that sale will also be announced at 1:00 PM ET.
• Visit our Daily Commentary page on our site for detailed explanations on current news that is relevant to mortgage rates.
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