Mortgage rates showed some nice improvement following Wednesday’s release of the Fed Minutes. Friday’s key Employment report caused a reversal, however, and mortgage rates ended the week with little change.
From the presidential election until the last few days of the year, the trend in yields was upward, and this kept many potential bond buyers on the sidelines. Buyers finally stepped in at the end of the year and then paused early this week. It appears that they were waiting until a major risk, the Minutes from the December 14 Fed meeting, was out of the way. When there were no surprises in the Minutes, investors felt comfortable purchasing bonds again. The rush to buy intensified on Thursday, pushing mortgage rates to the best levels in a month, but Friday’s economic data halted the rally. 
