• Friday’s mortgage rates should be approximately .250 - .375 of a discount point lower than Thursday’s pricing. The bond market is currently up 20/32 (4.24%).

 • Stocks are also rallying on the same news as bonds, pushing the Dow up 778 points and the Nasdaq up 278 points.

 • There was no relevant economic data posted this morning. The early gains in both stocks and bonds are almost exclusively due to a couple of pieces of news regarding the Iran and the Middle East.

 • First, there seems to be confirmation of peace talks resuming with Iran, possibly this weekend. That shows there may be progress towards ending the war.

 • On the potential peace topic, some of the details of the negotiations are starting to come to light. One that drew plenty of attention was rumor that Iran was willing to give up its enriched uranium (needed for a nuclear weapon) if the U.S. was to unfreeze the approximately $100 billion in Iranian assets that are currently frozen across the globe.

 • Secondly, Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz is fully open for shipping as long as the ceasefire remains in place. This is critical for oil prices to come down, easing gas costs and inflation concerns. We are already seeing oil prices fall this morning, but it will take a bit of time for those declines to reach the gas pumps.

 • Anything that means lower costs for businesses and consumers is almost always favorable news for bonds and mortgage rates. Hence the rally in bonds this morning and improvement to mortgage pricing.

 • We have a couple of Fed-member speeches happening today. One particular speech stands out as the best chance to affect rates is at 2:00 PM ET when Fed Governor Waller speaks at Auburn University with a topic listed as Economic Outlook. If we see a reaction to his words, it will come during midafternoon hours today.

 • Next week is very light in terms of scheduled economic releases that may affect mortgage rates. There are only three monthly reports scheduled, but one is a key measure of consumer spending. We also have a Treasury auction that may come into play during afternoon hours one day.

 • The week begins with nothing of importance set for Monday, so we are looking for weekend headlines from the Middle East to be the focus.

 • Look for details on next week’s activities 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.