It was day 2 for Fed Chair Powell's congressional testimony. These are normally uneventful as any bombshells for the week are typically dropped in the previous day's testimony. But Powell put a different spin on things today thanks to one particularly worthwhile question in which he was asked to define what it meant for the economy to evolve as expected (an important definition considering this is the condition that has to be met for the Fed to proceed with the 2 additional hikes it thinks will probably be appropriate). It turns out the bar isn't as high as the market may have thought. Bonds were already on the run due to hefty corporate issuance and Jobless Claims data that failed to inspire the same sort of surprise as the previous 2 weeks. Powell's relative hawkishness simply offered no objection to the selling pressure.
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- Jobless Claims
- 264k vs 260k f'cast, 262k prev
- Continued Claims
- 1.759m vs 1.782m f'cast
- Jobless Claims
Flat in Asia, initially weaker in Europe, but a friendly bounce followed the BOE announcement and Jobless Claims data. 10yr up just under 1bp at 3.736 and MBS down less than an eighth after accounting for illiquidity.
quick reversal into negative territory with little to blame apart from corporate debt issuance. 10yr up 5bps at 3.779. MBS down just over a quarter point.
Weakness leveling off in early PM hours. 10yr up 6.4bps at 3.791. MBS down just over 3/8ths of a point.
MBS at lows, down nearly half a point. 10yr up 7.5bps at 3.802.
MBS Market Alerts
