Industry News;
Mortgage bond prices remain slightly higher Friday morning erasing some of the losses seen Thursday afternoon. Trade is choppy with prices seesawing back and forth.
In news released at the open, retail sales rose 0.4%, slightly lower than the expected 0.5% increase traders were anticipating. On the inflation front, consumer prices rose 0.3% last month and the core value, which excludes the volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.1%. That data was near expectations.
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment report stood at 69.3, near expectations.
With no more data set for release today, traders will watch stocks to help gauge interest rate direction. At pricing the DOW was higher by 20-points. We expect trading conditions to slow to a crawl this afternoon. If stocks stage a major rebound, rates will suffer.
Carlos Figueira - Keypoint Mortgage 