Mostly Sideways. Volatility Elsewhere

Mostly Sideways. Volatility Elsewhere

The legend of the bond market’s extreme apathy is increasingly making the rounds in financial circles. Bond issuance, inflation, and economic strength are not seen surging enough to put huge upward pressure on longer-term rates. And without a big downturn in 2 of those 3 variables, there’s no major impetus for a big drop in rates. So we wait (and wait and wait) while bonds gyrate in micro-ranges.  Add today to the list. It might have been more volatile if we had the econ data that was postponed due to the shutdown, but JOLTS wouldn’t be enough to singlehandedly change the narrative. Stocks and commodities were volatile in contrast, but with limited correlation to bonds. The government funding bill passed the house and a reopening is assumed for Wednesday, but Friday’s jobs report will nonetheless not be coming out on Friday.

Econ Data / Events

ISM Manufacturing Employment (Jan)

48.1 vs — f’cast, 44.9 prev

ISM Manufacturing PMI (Jan)

52.6 vs 48.5 f’cast, 47.9 prev

ISM Mfg Prices Paid (Jan)

59.0 vs 60.5 f’cast, 58.5 prev

Market Movement Recap

09:46 AM Sideways to slightly weaker overnight in Treasuries with 10yr now up 1bp at 4.285.  MBS outperforming, up 1 tick (.03) on the day.

12:34 PM Not much movement. MBS down 1 tick (.03) and 10yr up 1.5 bps at 4.29

03:14 PM off weakest levels. MBS unchanged and 10yr down 0.4bps at 4.271

Customer Intelligence, HELOC, Uplist’s Recapture, Construction Products; Rates Are Driven by Markets; IMB Hallway Report

Regarding rate movement, the bond market often does the Fed’s job for it, and so whatever the Fed’s Open Market Committee actually does is almost an afterthought. The partial U.S. Government shutdown is hurting economic activity, and companies like Newrez are posting and how the shutdown is impacting lending. The FHA Office of Single Family Housing released FHA INFO 2026-05 and some of its mortgage insurance programs “will be operational but with limited services. Under a funding lapse, FHA’s actions and decisions about the operations that continue are governed by the U.S. Constitution…” The shutdown and chatter from the hallways will be the focus of today’s Advisory Angle at 3PM ET where Sue Woodard brings the conversation straight from the floor of the MBA’s IMB Conference. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s are sponsored by Truework, the one verification solution to replace in-house waterfalls. Verify any borrower with a VOIE solution that automates the entire process to quickly deliver the most accurate and complete reports with broad GSE coverage. Today’s features an interview with TLS’ Will Pendleton and Calque’s Jeremy Foster on how the Buy Before You Sell model helps brokers remove timing and contingency risk for today’s buyers, and why transparent, well-integrated solutions like this are increasingly becoming essential tools for brokers navigating more competitive and complex housing markets.) Products, Services, and Software for Brokers and Lenders

Mortgage Rates Drift Up to 2-Week Highs

The bad news: mortgage rates moved up to their highest levels in 2 weeks today.  The good news: the rate range has been very narrow during that time, so there’s not too much of a difference between 2-week highs (6.20%) and lows (6.15%).  Today’s move wasn’t a product of anything that happened today. Rather, the culprit was the focal point of our coverage yesterday. Specifically, an economic report on the manufacturing sector was exceptionally strong yesterday. The result was a weaker bond market and, thus, an implication for higher rates. But the report came out after most mortgage lenders had published rates for the day and the average lender didn’t see quite enough weakness in bonds to justify a mid-day rate change yesterday. Instead, they simply waited until this morning to make the expected changes.

Data-Free Day Thanks to Shutdown

While not as disruptive or publicized as the most recent example, there’s a partial government shutdown underway. Even if the House passes the funding legislation today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has already said they will not be publishing either of this week’s key reports (JOLTS, which would have been today, and Friday’s jobs report). This is consistent with our understanding of the way BLS works. In fact, it’s not uncommon for the jobs report to come out on the 2nd Friday in March simply because there weren’t enough work days in February to compile the data. To some extent, tomorrow’s ADP and ISM data could serve as supporting actors. But in the meantime, bonds continue kicking around on a piece of ground in their hometown, waiting for someone or something to show them the way.  4.2-4.3 is the new 4.1-4.2.