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"THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH CHANGE, AS LONG AS IT IS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION." ~ Winston Churchill. And there were some big changes indeed for Bonds and home loan rates last week - but not necessarily all in the "right direction". For most of the week, Bond prices were pummeled lower, causing home loan rates to rise - and even after a Friday afternoon rally, home loan rates worsened by about .375% for the week overall.
One silver lining...some of the abuse that Bonds took was at the hands of somewhat positive economic news. Remember that positive or strong economic news tends to benefit Stocks, which in turn can pull money out of Bonds - which causes Bond prices to worsen and home loan rates to rise. So when news hit of a far better than forecast Retail Sales Report and much better than expected earnings reports from giants like Google, the financial markets responded by flowing money over into Stocks, and right out of Bonds, causing home loan rates to rise.
Also hurting Bonds was inflation chatter during speeches made by several Federal Reserve Presidents, who vocalized their concerns over the persistence of inflation in the current economy. Additionally, the Producer Price Index showed wholesale inflation to be climbing higher, thanks to record high oil prices and a seventeen-year high on food prices. Because inflation erodes the value of the fixed return provided by a Bond, the scent of inflation in the air always causes Bond prices to decline, and as a result, home loan rates will rise.
Even though Bond prices ended the week lower than they began, it is still a good time to take advantage of historically lower home loan rates before rising inflation continues to push rates higher. If you, or a friend, family member, neighbor or coworker needs advice on the latest changes in the market, please feel free to get in touch. |
