August 15th, 2017 2:57 PM by Narbik Karamian
Mortgage rates continued higher today as markets reacted to news that North Korea would tactically abstain from launching a nuclear attack on Guam. Markets took solace in the absence of global nuclear war by buying stocks and selling bonds. Buying stocks and therefor selling pressure in bonds pushes rates higher. Strong economic data in the morning only added to bond market weakness by shifting investors towards the stock market.
Fortunately, movement in rates continues to be rather flat by historical standards. Most consumers would still be seeing the same rates quoted today that were available last Friday (which were the lowest since November 2016).