On the heels of The Fed’s 75 basis point surge in the target rate, the US Treasury yield jumped +11.5 BPS as of 8:30 AM EST. The S&P 500 E-mini futures contract is down -1.8%.
As investors brace for a recession, mortgage rates dropped to 6.03%.
Gasoline prices remain near $5 per gallon, diesel prices are near $6 per gallon and The Fed’s massive balance sheet is still in force.
On the housing front, US housing starts plunged -14.4% MoM in May, the biggest decline under Biden.
While housing starts were down -14.4% MoM in May, single-family detached home were down only -9.16%. It was 5+ unit (multifamily) starts that were down -26.83% MoM.
Good morning peeps! Reality is dawning after the market surge yesterday after investors celebrated that The Fed could have raised rates even more.
I just read that President Biden has never been more optimistic about the US economy than he is now.
Well, today’s closing bell is not optimistic and is downright bearish.
The US Treasury 10-year yield rose … ANOTHER … 11.3 basis points as rumors circulate that The Fed might actually raise their target rate by 75 basis points.
And the venerable Dow (DJIA) is down -152 points today.
Markets are anticipating an increase of The Fed Funds target rate from 1% to 1.568%, less than the rumored 75 basis point increase being bandied about.
If Biden is wildly optimistic about the economy, then he needs to get out of The White House and talk to average Americans and not people like Robert De Niro.
US home prices are still skyrocketing as The Federal Reserve kept its massive foot on the monetary accelerator pedal.
CoreLogic’s home price index grew at a 20.9% YoY pace in April, but is expected to slow to 5.6% YoY in late 2022.
Remember peeps, The Fed still have its staggering monetary stimulypto in place.
The Fed is signaling its withdrawal of stimulus, causing mortgage rates to soar.
Given the slowdown of the US and global economy, we shall see if The Fed keeps to its tightening plans. As of today, the market is expecting The Fed to raise its target rate from 1% to 3.819% by February 2023. That is a 291% increase in The Fed’s target rate.ng
The Fed trying to tame inflation (caused by The Fed and Biden’s energy policies and Congressional spending) is like Curly trying to eat oyster stew.
The US Treasury 10Y-5Y yield curve has gone into negative territory (which usually occurs before a recession). At the same time, US mortgage rates are climbing like Tom Cruise in “Top Gun: Maverick” to 5.87% as The Fed tightens its choke hold on markets.
The 10Y-5Y Treasury curve typically goes negative before a recession.
And then we have today’s PPI report (Producer Price Index), rising 10.8% YoY as M2 Money stock starts to decline a bit.
Here is a better view of mortgage rates under Biden/Powell.
The CPI news on Friday was so awful that it changed the bond market’s view of Fed trajectory, and the weakest sector broke. In bond jargon, MBS went “no-bid.”No buyers for MBS. Then a few posted prices beyond borrower demand, not wanting to buy except at penalty prices. (Courtesy of Cherry Creek Mortgage)
Despite what Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said, Friday’s inflation report demonstrated that inflation is no longer transitory. And with that realization, there was a dearth of bidders for Agency Mortgage-backed Securities (Agency MBS) on Friday.
As a result, agency MBS 2.5% dropped to under $90 as markets expect The Fed to keep raising rates to combat inflation.
Duration of the FNCL 2.5% agency MBS has been extending with growing inflation. Duration was under 1 on August 2, 2021 but is now 7 times greater at almost 7.
Note to Yellen: inflation seems be permanent, not transitory. Or at least inflation will remain high for the foreseeable future, crushing the life out of Agency MBS.
The Fed is expected to raise their target rate to 2.875% by February 2023. With that expectation, mortgage rates (yellow line) are soaring. And with that, University of Michigan’s Buying Conditions for housing has plunged to 43, the lowest levels since 1982 as the US was trying to recover from high inflation.
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index just plunged to the LOWEST LEVEL in history on inflation and Fed’s reaction.
Average REAL wage growth has now declined to -2.11% YoY.
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