Today's economic update ...

From my favorite loan officer, Connie Echeverria:

• Mortgage bond prices opened higher erasing the small losses seen yesterday afternoon. Bonds are receiving support from weak stock futures, which indicate the Dow Jones index, will open lower.
• In news released this morning, the trade deficit stood at 64.2B. This data was in line with market expectations and had little impact on trade.
• With no more economic news set for release today, traders will spend the day watching stocks as they prepare for a BIG news day Friday. Tomorrow both retail sales and PPI are going to hit the wire at 8:30 am ET. Retail sales is an indication of consumer demand, which is the driving force of the US economy. Weakness may lead to lower rates. The Producer Price Index (PPI) is an indication of inflation at the producer level. If the cost to produce goods rises, traders grow concerned that companies will pass on the increases to the consumers causing inflation to rise. ***If inflation rises, so will interest rates.***
• Stay tuned! Tomorrow may be a big day ...