Arguably, the Sistine Chapel has one of the world’s most famous ceilings. Nobody would dream of punching through it’s plaster just to get through to the roof. And for that matter, most of us would not blast through a ceiling even in our own home unless the drastic measure seemed warranted. So it is with the bond market. The pricing of mortgage bonds has bounced off of a ceiling of resistance now four times over the last year and with each occurrence has found that there is no pull strong enough to justify the journey into the rafters. Consequently, interest rates aren’t getting any lower–and at this point are running the risk of heading upwards in the weeks that follow.
