The Fed cut interest rates, but mortgage costs have increased

The long-term Treasury yields jumped and the Federal Reserve cuts were flying in the face of rate cuts as they didn’t get the guarantees they wanted.

10-year-old Ministry of Finance This week, after a short time below 4%, the yield jumped to 4.145%. 30-year-old Ministry of Finance Yield – followed closely for mortgage connections, which rose by about 4.76% from a low of 4.604% early in the week.

The Fed lowered its benchmark lending rate to a quarter point at the end of the meeting Wednesday, urging investors to send stocks to record highs when they cheered on this year’s first cut. However, according to Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at BFG Wealth Partners, Bond Traders saw it as an opportunity to “sell the news” after recent bond profits.

Long-dated bond traders “don’t want the Fed to cut interest rates,” Boockvar said.

Their long-term bond sales reduced prices and increased yields. Bond prices and yields move in the opposite direction.

Money easing monetary policy could indicate central banks “keeping their eyes off” inflation when the economy appears to be stable beyond the Fed’s 2% target, Boockvar said it is a significant risk to securities for longer periods of time. An updated economic forecast from the Fed, released Wednesday, showed policymakers who are seeing slightly faster inflation next year as well.

Investors are looking for the Fed to shift their focus from fighting inflation to boost the labour market as employment data is weak earlier this month. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell called Wednesday’s rates reduced the “risk management” movement and referring to a softer labor market.

“If the bond market continues to have a higher (longer yields), it will send a message saying, “I don’t think we should actively cut interest rates by blocking inflation at 3%,” Boockvar said.

Additionally, Boockvar said higher yields this week came after a steady rise in long-term bond prices over the past few months and yields fell. It was a similar move, as seen in the wake of the Fed’s interest rate cuts last September, he noted.

However, it is worth noting that despite the Fed’s reduction rates have been reduced multiple times since then, memo yields for 2020 have been little changed compared to early 2024.

Long-term yield increases can affect mortgage loans and credit cards costs for purchasing large debts such as households and cars. Mortgage fees have risen following this week’s Fed rate cuts after reaching three years ago before the central bank’s lawsuit.

Home Builder Renal On Thursday, the company missed Wall Street revenue expectations for the third quarter, and guidance for delivery this quarter is weak. Co-CEO Stuart Miller said in a statement that Miami-based Lennar faces “continuous pressure” in today’s housing market and is facing “up” interest rates for most of the third quarter.

Looking for “bad news”

According to FWDBonds chief economist Chris Rupkey, stock markets could move significantly with one rate cut, but bond investors are trying to make decisions based on what is considered a major situation.

“It’s not a journey, it’s a destination,” he said. This can be determined in part by examining the central bank’s forecasts for future interest rate reductions and the perceived neutrality rate of the Fed fund ratio.

“They are trying to rate: what’s the final game of this?” Rupkey said. “When central banks are guaranteed to dramatically cut prices, the bond market really reacts.”

One Point’s Boockvar said that US long-term yields could be affected by international counterparts.

Still, investors need to be aware of what they want when it comes to long-term yields, Rupkey warned.

Lower yields often indicate a recession on the horizon, economists say. In fact, Rupkey believes this week’s yields are partly due to the collapse of unemployment claims.

“Don’t be too happy about lowering bond yields because it may mean that it’s impossible for you to find a job,” Rupkey said.

“Unfortunately, the bond market is just accepting the bad news,” he added. And unfortunately, “Not only bad news… horrifying news.”

– CNBC’s Fred Invert and Diana Orrik contributed to this report.