by Calculated Risk on 12/16/2024 07:13:00 PM

From Matthew Graham at Mortgage News Daily: Mortgage Rates Start New Week With Some Hope

Last week wasn't great for mortgage rates. They moved higher on each of the 5 days. Moreover, there was a distinct lack of logical motivation from the economic data. In fact, on a few occasions, the data argued for lower rates only for things to move in the other direction by the end of the day.

The new week is off to a different start. ...

Traders are already assuming the Fed will pencil in a slower pace of rate cuts than they did in the September meeting. Some of the recent rise in rates reflects those trades. [30 year fixed 6.72%]
emphasis added

Tuesday:
• At 8:30 AM ET, Retail sales for November will be released.  The consensus is for a 0.5% increase in retail sales.

• At 9:15 AM, The Fed will release Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization for November. The consensus is for a 0.1% increase in Industrial Production, and for Capacity Utilization to increase to 77.2%.

• At 10:00 AM, The December NAHB homebuilder survey. The consensus is for a reading of 46, unchanged from 46 the previous month. Any number below 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as poor than good.