Early in the week, investors shifted some assets from stocks to bonds, including mortgage-backed securities (MBS). Comments from President-elect Trump were one reason that investors sold certain stocks. In his first press conference since the election on Wednesday, Trump stated a goal of reducing costs in certain areas such as pharmaceuticals and defense spending. The added demand for MBS from investors caused mortgage rates to decline.
Mortgage rates showed small improvement through most of the week. Friday’s inflation data caused a reversal, however, and mortgage rates ended the week slightly higher.
