Mortgage rates are moving sideways today. The mortgage market improved a little yesterday, but not as much as that it would have any significant movement on the rate and/or the cost of fees associated with the rates quoted.

This morning we had the Durable Goods Orders come in which has seen some wild swings over the past year. Today's release showed that the headline August data was flat at 0.0%, but that was better than anticipated. Weekly Mortgage Applications fell because of Refinance Applications were lower, but Purchase Applications actually saw a nice improvement.

Today we have our 7yr Treasury Auction which is the most important auction of the week and it will take a huge amount of demand for it to impact pricing. So far this week both the 2yr and 5yr year auctions have actually seen a pullback in demand.

Janet Yellen speaks is currently speaking at the House Services Committee testifying on the Fed's "Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System". Committee members will also question the Fed's intentions and what the Fed believes the economic outlook is. Other Fed officials will also be speaking, but they usually have their own opinions and all it is to me is hog wash. Yellen is the key.

I still like the bond and mortgage markets from a technical outlook but the fundamentals bother me a little. Always go with what markets are doing, not what the news is. The markets discount the fundamental news and it's where the money changes hands. News items important but how do the markets actually do with the news is a factor not to be overlooked. That is why I have suggested those who are closing in the next 15 days to consider locking as this market can be fickle.