Monday Market Recap

Conventional
30 year 5.75
15 year 5.25
7/23 5.125
Conforming ARMS
3/1 5.125
5/1 5.625
7/1 5.875

U.S. non-farm payrolls grew by just 96,000 workers in September - down 30% from last month and analysts' expectations for September. Although the unemployment rate remains steady, the weak job creation report heightened, or perhaps broadened, speculation that the summer's economic slowdown may be harder to push through than earlier thought. A Merrill Lynch analyst in New York Friday went so far as to predict only one more Federal Reserve interest rate increase over the next 14 months.
Meanwhile the dollar and stock market slid Friday and Monday, taking mortgage rates lower as well.
On our way to $60 oil, we set records three days this week with oil now at $53.15 per barrel - up 71% this year alone. Besides the hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico and Nigerian unrest, oil price records, low inventory and very limited spare capacity are being fueled by a tremendous boom in the Chinese and Indian economies. Because production capacity is maxed out, a senior International Monetary Fund researcher said Thursday that government solutions - whether subsidies, increased taxes or price fixing - are not a long-term answer. Rather, he said it's "important to allow the price system to do its job and to tell consumers 'Hey, you should be consuming less.' Otherwise you're just perpetuating the problem." Massive credit expansion in China continues to drive worldwide prices on commodities to new record highs - from energy to precious metals to building materials. Don't take your eye off this major global economic factor.
Have a great week and look for rates to stay in the high 5s on the fixed-rate products!