by Calculated Risk on 9/05/2017 06:40:00 PM

From Matthew Graham at Mortgage News Daily: Mortgage Rates Back in Line With 2017 Lows

Mortgage rates moved lower today on a combination of factors.  Chief among these were headlines over the weekend concerning more North Korean weapons testing--specifically, a detonation of its largest bomb ever on Sunday followed by reports from South Korea of another ballistic missile test by the end of the week. ...

Indeed most mortgages are being quoted at the same rates seen on Friday with the only improvement being seen in the form of modestly lower upfront costs. [3.875% fixed on top tier scenarios].
emphasis added

Wednesday:
• At 7:00 AM ET, The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the results for the mortgage purchase applications index.

• At 8:30 AM, Trade Balance report for July from the Census Bureau. The consensus is for the U.S. trade deficit to be at $44.6 billion in July from $43.6 billion in June.

• At 10:00 AM, the ISM non-Manufacturing Index for August. The consensus is for index to increase to 55.4 from 53.9 in July.

• At 10:00 AM, 2017 Current Employment Statistics (CES) Preliminary Benchmark Revision. From the BLS:

"Each year, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey estimates are benchmarked to comprehensive counts of employment from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) for the month of March. These counts are derived from state unemployment insurance (UI) tax records that nearly all employers are required to file. On September 6, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release the preliminary estimate of the upcoming annual benchmark revision to the establishment survey employment series. ... The final benchmark revision will be issued with the publication of the January 2018 Employment Situation news release in February. "