Rate Update October 6, 2010

Posted on by Evan in Rate Update

Mortgage rates are unchanged this morning.

The Bank of Japan’s unexpected move yesterday to engage in quantitative easing has convinced the markets that other developed economies (i.e. Europe) will join the US Fed in more monetary easing.  It may end up being a race to the bottom as countries drive their currencies lower to help drive exports.  However, this monetary policy can be dangerous and lead to hyper-inflation later on.

On Friday the markets will get a look at the September jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and as I pointed out in yesterday’s ‘rate update’ the markets are expecting 70,000 new jobs in the private sector.  Today, ADP released its own monthly version of the report and it showed the private sector shed 39,000 jobs last month.  Bad news for the economy is good news for interest rates.

Tomorrow we’ll get a look at weekly jobless claims numbers.  Mortgage rates remain near all-time lows.

Current outlook: neutral w/ locking bias