Mortgage Bonds Continued To Dance Around The 200-Day Moving Average Last Week

,

There are several important economic reports ahead this week...is more bad economic news on the way? Tuesday and Wednesday will be big days on the inflation front as Tuesday brings the wholesale measuring Producer Price Index while Wednesday's Consumer Price Index (CPI) report will show us inflation at the consumer level - that is, how much more expensive goods and services are for consumers this month over last month, as well as year over year. Given the Fed's recent rate cuts (which can trigger inflation), it will be important to see what these reports show.
Wednesday will also bring a read on the new construction housing market with the Housing Starts and Building Permits Report, and Thursday is another important day to note as the Philadelphia Fed Report will be released. This monthly survey of manufacturing purchasing managers conducting business around the tri-state area of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware is one of the most-watched manufacturing reports. Given both the poor Jobs and Retail Sales reports of late, this is likely to be somewhat negative as well. Weak economic news normally helps Bonds and home loan rates improve, as money flows out of Stocks and into Bonds, so I will be watching very closely for improvement during the coming week.
However, to gain improvement, Bonds would have to convincingly defeat and move above a technical level called the 200-Day Moving Average. A moving average is the average closing price of a financial instrument over a given time period. In this case, the 200-Day Moving Average can act as a "ceiling of resistance", preventing Bond pricing from moving higher and helping home loan rates improve, or a "floor of support" that can keep Bond prices from moving lower and causing home loan rates to worsen.
You can see in the chart below how Bonds danced around this level all last week, so I will be watching closely during the coming week to see if Bonds and home loan rates can breakthrough this resistance and move in an improving direction.

0 comments: