Mortgage Market Movements

Mortgage rates remained relatively unchanged last week. Mortgage application submissions for purchases increased while refinance application submissions fell slightly. The consumer price index rose to its highest annual level in 40 years. Initial jobless claims rose while continuing jobless claims dropped. Retail sales decreased on a monthly basis but are still higher than last year.

Mortgage rates are currently trending high.

This week’s potential volatility is high.

Market Recap

Mortgage application submissions increased 1.4% during the week ending 1/7. The Refinance Index slipped 0.1% but the Purchase Index saw a gain of 2%.
The consumer price index increased 0.5% month-over-month in December after rising 0.8% in November. Over the last 12 months, the consumer price index increased 7% before seasonal adjustment. The core consumer price index (stripping food and energy) rose 0.6%, following a 0.5% increase in November.
Initial jobless claims increased for the second consecutive week, rising to a level of 230,000 during the week ending 1/8. Continuing jobless claims fell to a level of 1.56 million during the week ending 1/2.
Retail sales fell 1.9% month-over-month in December. Year-over-year, retail sales increased 16.95%, a slower increase than the previous month.

This information is courtesy of Michelle Shaman at CMG Financial.