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Mortgage Rates End The Week At Increased Levels

Scheduled events had minimal impact on the Treasury bond market on Friday. Interest rates remained at Thursday's levels as a result, keeping mortgage rates at their increased levels going into the weekend.

Friday's releases showed that the economy continues to grow. The Commerce Department reported a 0.6% rise in personal income levels of Americans during February, with spending on the part of consumers up 0.4%. The University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment came in at 106.5 in its final March reading, indicating healthy consumer attitudes.

These reports failed to shed any new light on the current state of the U.S. economy, so they had minimal impact on Treasury Bond values. The price on the benchmark 30 year Treasury Bond was higher by 6/32, putting its yield to investors at 5.95%. With long-term interest rates holding at inflated levels for a couple of days now, lenders that have recently increased their mortgage rates held them at their prevailing levels going into the weekend.

There is a very good chance that remaining lenders will increase their mortgage rates on Monday. Monday morning the Commerce Department reports on new home sales for the month of February. Given the strength seen in this week's existing home sales report, there is a good chance that sales of new homes will also rise markedly. If home sales do indeed rise sharply, the value of Treasury Bonds could decline further and put additional upward pressure on interest rates.