This Week's Market Commentary

This week has four pieces of economic data that are relevant to mortgage rates in addition to two Treasury auctions that can also be influential. None of the relevant data is scheduled until Thursday, so look for the stock markets to influence bond trading and mortgage rates the first couple of days. We are going into the week with an increase in rates due to weakness in bonds late Friday.

The two relevant Treasury auctions will be held Wednesday and Thursday. 10-year Treasury Notes will be sold Wednesday while 30-year Bonds will be sold Thursday. Results of both auctions will be posted at 1:00 PM ET on the sale days. If investor demand was high, we may see bonds rally during afternoon trading, however, weak demand for the securities could lead to selling and an increase to mortgage rates. It is common to see some pressure in bonds right before these sales as investors prepare for them, but as long as the sales are not weak those pre-auction losses are usually recovered once they are completed.

The first data of the week comes Thursday when the Commerce Department posts May’s Retail Sales data at 8:30 AM ET. This report gives us a very important measurement of consumer spending, which is highly relevant to the bond market because consumer spending makes up over two-thirds of the U.S. economy. Analysts are expecting to see that retail-level sales rose 0.3% last month. A decline in sales, signaling a slowing economy, would be negative for stocks, good news for the bond market and could lead to lower mortgage rates Thursday morning. On the other hand, a stronger level of sales will likely equate to an increase in rates.

Friday has the remaining three pieces of economic data that we will be watching. The first of those is one of the two key measurements of inflation that we get each month. May's Producer Price Index (PPI) will be released early Friday morning, helping us measure inflationary pressures at the producer level of the economy. There are two readings of this index, the overall and the core data. The core data is considered to be the more important one because it excludes more volatile food and energy prices. A large increase could raise concerns about inflation rising as soon as the economy gains some traction. This would not be good news for bond prices or mortgage rates since inflation erodes the value of a bond's future fixed interest payments. Rising inflation causes investors to sell bonds, driving bond prices lower, pushing their yields upward and bringing mortgage rates higher. Analysts are expecting to see increases of 0.1% in both readings, signaling inflation was subdued at the manufacturing level of the economy last month.

May's Industrial Production data will be released at 9:15 AM ET Friday and is considered to be moderately important. It measures output at U.S. factories, mines and utilities, giving us a fairly important measurement of manufacturing sector strength. If it reveals that production is rapidly rising, concerns of manufacturing strength may come into play in the bond market. A larger increase than the expected 0.1% would indicate the manufacturing sector is stronger than thought and would likely push mortgage rates slightly higher.

June's preliminary reading to the University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment will be posted late Friday morning. This index measures consumer willingness to spend and usually has a moderate impact on the financial markets. It is expected to show a reading of 83.0, which would be a decline from May's 84.5. A smaller than expected reading would be considered good news for bonds because it would mean that surveyed consumers were less optimistic about their own financial situations than thought. That often means they are less likely to make large purchases in the near future, but since this report is only moderately important it likely will not influence mortgage rates considerably unless it shows a significant variance from forecasts.

Overall, look for Thursday or Friday to be the biggest day of the week with both having important economic data scheduled. The least important day of the week will probably be Tuesday. We saw plenty of movement in the markets and mortgage pricing again last week and it is quite likely that this week will also be active. However, I suspect that it will be to a less degree than last week was. The stock markets will also influence bond trading and mortgage rates, so watch the major indexes in addition to the economic reports.

This Week's Market Commentary

There are six economic reports scheduled for release this week that have the potential to affect mortgage rates. We have monthly reports set for every day except Thursday with a couple of those reports considered to be highly important. Therefore, I believe it will be another active week for mortgage rates.

The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) manufacturing index will be posted late Monday morning. This highly important index measures manufacturer sentiment. One reason why it is considered so important is the fact that it is the first piece of economic data posted every month that covers the preceding month. In other words, it is the first look into the previous month’s economic conditions. That differs from many reports that aren’t released until mid or late month. A reading above 50 means that more surveyed manufacturing executives felt that business improved during the month than those who felt it had worsened. Analysts are expecting to see a 50.9 reading in this month's release, meaning that sentiment rose slightly during May. A smaller reading will be good news for the bond market and mortgage shoppers while an unexpected increase could contribute to higher mortgage rates tomorrow.

Tuesday’s only data is April's Goods and Services Trade Balance report. It gives us the size of the U.S. trade deficit and will be released at 8:30 AM ET. It isn't likely to cause much movement in the markets or mortgage rates, but nevertheless forecasters are expecting to see a $41.1 billion trade deficit. It will take a wide variance from this projection for the data to influence mortgage rates.

The revised 1st Quarter Productivity and Costs data is the first of three reports that will be released Wednesday. This data measures employee output and employer costs for wages and benefits. It is considered to be a measurement of wage inflation. It is believed that the economy can grow with low inflationary pressures when productivity is high. Last month's preliminary reading revealed a 0.7% increase in productivity and a 0.5% increase in labor costs. Wednesday’s update is predicted to show 0.6% increases in both readings. I don't think this piece of data will have much of an impact on the bond market or mortgage pricing either unless it varies greatly from expectations.

The second release of the day will come from the Commerce Department, who will post April's Factory Orders data during late morning trading. This manufacturing sector report is similar to last week's Durable Goods Orders release, but also includes orders for non-durable goods. It can cause some movement in the financial markets if it varies from forecasts by a wide margin, but it isn't expected to cause much of a change in rates this month. Current forecasts are calling for an increase in orders of 1.5%.

Wednesday’s final relevant report is the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, which is named simply after the color of its cover. This report details economic conditions throughout the U.S. by Federal Reserve region. It is relied upon heavily by the Fed to determine monetary policy during their FOMC meetings. If it shows surprisingly softer economic activity since the last report, the bond market may thrive and mortgage rates could drop shortly after the 2:00 PM ET release. If it reveals signs of inflation growing or rapidly expanding economic activity in many regions, we could see mortgage rates revise higher Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday doesn’t have any monthly or quarterly economic data for us to be concerned with, but there are a couple of foreign central bank announcements that are similar to our FOMC meetings. The Bank of England (BOE) and the European Central Bank (ECB) will both make monetary policy announcements before our markets open Thursday morning. The world markets, including ours, will be watching for any changes or updates about economic and financial conditions in their respective regions. Of particular interest will be the ECB announcement that is more likely to disrupt the global markets. It is difficult to predict not only what will be said but also what kind of reaction we can expect. We simply will have to wait and see what happens. They could be a non-factor or cause global volatility, so they are on my calendar.

Friday's sole report is arguably the single most important report that we see each month. The Labor Department will post May's Employment data early Friday morning. This report gives us key employment readings such as the U.S. unemployment rate and the number of jobs added or lost during the month. Analysts are expecting to see the unemployment rate remain unchanged at 7.5% with approximately 164,000 jobs added to the economy during the month. A higher than expected unemployment rate and a much smaller number than the 164,000 new payrolls would be great news for the bond market. It would probably create a sizable rally in bonds, leading to lower mortgage rates Friday. However, stronger than expected numbers may lead to another spike in mortgage rates.

Overall, it appears that Friday is the key day of the week with regards to mortgage rate movement. However, Monday or Wednesday could also be active days for mortgage pricing. Tuesday will probably be the lightest day unless something totally unexpected happens with stocks. Although, as we have seen many times over the past couple weeks, we don’t have to have an event or economic report released for the bond market and mortgage rates to become volatile.