Daily Mortgage Update

from Interest.com

1. Mortgage rates fell this week -- and should level off -- after the Fed stopped pushing rates up
Mortgage rates have tumbled more than a third of a point over the past six weeks, retreating back to where they were in mid-April.

2. Mortgage rates fell this week -- and should level off -- after the Fed stopped pushing rates up
Mortgage rates have tumbled more than a third of a point over the past six weeks, retreating back to where they were in mid-April.

3. Mortgage rates fell again this week -- could the peak be past?
Mortgage rates have plunged more than a quarter of a point over the past five weeks, retreating back towards where they were in late April and early May.

4. Mortgage rates keep falling this week . Could they have peaked after steadily increasing for two years?
Mortgage rates have plunged more than a quarter of a point over the past five weeks, retreating back towards where they were in late April and early May.

5. Mortgage rates keep falling this week . Could they have peaked after steadily increasing for two years?
Mortgage rates have plunged more than a quarter of a point over the past five weeks, retreating back towards where they were in late April and early May.

6. Mortgage rates dropped a lot this week. Could the two year climb be over?
Mortgage rates plunged more than a tenth of a percentage point this week, retreating back towards where they were in May and early June.

7. Mortgage rates remain at higher levels
U.S. Treasury securities rebounded a bit on Wednesday, after three days of selling that saw the yield on the benchmark 10-year note hit its highest level in almost two years. Buyers came back to Treasuries today after two Fed officials, in separate speeches, suggested last night that the Fed is nearing the end of its rate-hike campaign. Early buying sent prices upward and yields, which move in the opposite direction of prices, back down. But bonds gave back some of their gains when Treasury Secretary John Snow was quoted as saying Friday's jobs report for March would provide "good numbers." Strong growth in the labor market portends inflation, which bond traders fear.

8. Mortgage rates continue moving upward
Yields on U.S. Treasury securities, which move in the opposite direction of prices, backed off their highs on Tuesday, but not enough to force mortgage rates down. The rate on a 30-year fixed is at its highest level since May 2004, and it would likely take a weak employment report on Friday to put it in remission. Bond traders today were looking for guidance from Fed officials who spoke to separate groups across the nation. But all suggested that economic growth was steady, although inflation remained under control. This did nothing to dissuade traders from thinking that the Fed would continue with its rate-hike program, nor did it suggest more aggressive moves. This left Treasury yields and mortgage rates, which are based on yields, close to yesterday's levels.

9. Mortgage rates on the rise
Fresh signs that inflation is on the rise kept sellers busy in the U.S. Treasury securities markets on Thursday. Traders continued to unload bonds as the prospect of further rate hikes loomed, sending Treasury prices tumbling further as their yields, which move in the opposite direction, continued to soar. And the yield on the benchmark 10-year note is close to a two-year high, which was hit in mid-June 2004. The surge in Treasury yields has forced lenders to increase mortgage rates, which move in sync with those yields.

10. Mortgage rates in post-Fed climb
Mortgage rates moved up on Wednesday in response to the major sell-off in U.S. Treasury securities on Tuesday. Treasury yields, which move in the opposite direction of prices, hit their highest levels in almost two years after traders learned yesterday that the Fed has more rate hikes up its sleeve. Not only were short-term interest rates boosted by another 25 basis points, but the accompanying statement noted that some further policy firming may be needed to keep the risks to the attainment of both sustainable economic growth and price stability roughly in balance.