Bond Market Update

Data Recon

• The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 104.7 in December (Briefing.com consensus 113.5) from an upwardly revised 112.8 (from 111.7) in November.
  • The key takeaway from the report is that consumers were substantially less optimistic about future business conditions and incomes than they were last month.
• New home sales increased 5.9% month-over-month in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 664,000 units (Briefing.com consensus 670,000) from an upwardly revised 627,000 (from 610,000) in October. On a year-over-year basis, new home sales were up 8.7%.
  • The key takeaway from the report is that new home sales, which are tabulated when contracts are signed, increased in November with the help of lower selling prices that were needed to help offset affordability constraints driven by rising mortgage rates.
• Yield Check:
  • 2-yr: +3 bps to 4.34%
  • 3-yr: +3 bps to 4.35%
  • 5-yr: +4 bps to 4.42%
  • 10-yr: +4 bps to 4.56%
  • 30-yr: +4 bps to 4.75%