Rates are dictated by bonds and bonds take cues from economic data. But during the shutdown, the most important data has been on hold. This week brought a rare concentration of non-government data to help bridge the gap and bonds were more than willing to respond.
Source: Kevin Litwicki MBSLIVE
A Rare Week of Data Brings Friends and Foes For Rates

Not all rates are created equal and not all rates move in the same direction for the same reasons.
Source: Kevin Litwicki MBSLIVE
Once More With Feeling: Mortgage Rates Moved Higher After The Fed Rate Cut

The end of October brings the next Fed announcement and it is a 100% certainty that they will be cutting rates again. Many people believe this means lower mortgage rates. Many people are wrong.
Source: Kevin Litwicki MBSLIVE
The Fed is Cutting Rates Next Week, But Not Mortgage Rates!

If we stopped paying attention at noon on Thursday, it was an uneventful week due to an absence of important economic data, a holiday closure, and a lack of volatility in the underlying bond market. After that, things got interesting.
Source: Kevin Litwicki MBSLIVE
Mortgage Rates Aren't Too Far From 3 Year Lows

After jumping quickly higher after the September 17th Fed announcement, rates were remarkably flat for more than 3 weeks. As of Friday, that’s not quite as true as it was 24 hours prior.
Source: Kevin Litwicki MBSLIVE
Lowest Rates Since Fed Day After New Tariff Escalation

It was a much less eventful week than it might have been if the jobs report had been released on schedule, but rates were nonetheless able to inch down to the lowest levels since Fed Day.
Source: Kevin Litwicki MBSLIVE
Small Victory For Rates as Market Waits For Data

It’s that time again, maybe. By this time next week, we will either be several days into another government shutdown or in the throes of volatility following the big jobs report, but it’s probably one or the other.
Source: Kevin Litwicki MBSLIVE
How Next Week's Potential Shutdown Could Impact Rates

mortgage rates surged HIGHER after this week’s Fed rate cut–a seemingly paradoxical move that has exposed widespread confusion about the nature of mortgage rate movement. Let’s clear it up!
Source: Kevin Litwicki MBSLIVE
Mortgage Rates Jump Higher After Fed Rate Cut. Confused? Don't Be…

Markets have settled into a cycle that favors the jobs report as the only critical economic data as far as rates are concerned. This weeks inflation data had a chance to claim/preserve a role as a strong supporting actor, but instead, it basically stood aside and left focus on the labor market and the Fed’s interpretation of recent labor market weakness.
Source: Kevin Litwicki MBSLIVE
The Fed is Cutting Rates Next Week, But Not Mortgage Rates

A sharply weaker jobs report helped already-low mortgage rates drop at the fastest pace in more than a year.
Source: Kevin Litwicki MBSLIVE
Job Count and Mortgage Rates Go Cliff-Diving