Following recently’s relatively strong move to the most affordable levels considering that May 14th, home mortgage rates bounced a little higher to begin the news week. The move followed a clear shift in the Iran war news cycle with early morning headings mentioning Iranian authorities stating the peace negotiation were successfully tabled as long as hostilities stayed in between Israel and Lebanon.
As a refresher, the Iran war is bad for rates primarily due to the actual and implied impact on inflation due to greater fuel costs. Bonds dictate rates and bonds hate inflation. There was an instant and moderately sharp response in both oil rates and bonds right when today’s news came out.
Thankfully, the damage was relatively mild for mortgage rates with the typical lending institution moving up 0.04% to 6.60% for a leading tier 30yr fixed situation. This is still 0.10% lower than the most recent high of 6.70% seen on May 19th.