Rates Flat On Limited Economic Data
premier mortgage group | Friday, August 10th, 2012 | Comments OffMortgage interest rates were mostly flat again this past week on limited new economic data. Of note, June Consumer Credit was weaker than expected, increasing $6.5 billion on expectations that it would increase by $10.3 billion. The US trade deficit in June was lower than expected and weekly jobless claims were smaller than expected. June Wholesale Inventories fell by 0.2% on expectations that they would increase by 0.3%. The Treasury auctioned $72 billion of 3 Year Notes, 10 Year Notes, and 30 Year Bonds, which were met with somewhat weak demand from markets. In Europe there is talk of the European Central Bank purchasing the sovereign debt of Spain and Italy to reduce their borrowing costs. German Industrial Production fell in June. In China, exports increased at a much slower pace than anticipated.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is currently at 13,139, up about 40 points on the week. Crude oil spot prices are currently at $92.82 per barrel, up slightly on the week. The Dollar strengthened versus the Euro and weakened versus the Yen on the week.
Next week look toward Tuesday’s Producer Price Index (PPI) and Retail Sales, Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Industrial Production, and Thursday’s Housing Starts, jobless claims, and Philadelphia Fed Survey as potential market moving events.