MBS AFTERNOON: Volatility Fades As Bonds Cling To The Edge

• The Edge: Both MBS 4.5's and 10yr notes are UNCHANGED at the moment
• For MBS, that's 100-30 and for the 10yr, that's just under 3.73
• Verdict on this auction cycle: undecided...  waiting for retail sales tomorrow and FOMC next week
• The snake continues to coil, but who will it strike?

When we reference the snake, that would be a chart with with converging/competing trends in a "triangle" shape.  Since the line on such charts is usually predisposed to move directionally after it breaks out of the triangle.  In this sense, it's like a "coiling snake" preparing to strike out in one direction or the other.

As we are still in the middle of this triangle, there's no clear indication of which direction rates want to move of their own accord.  With retail sales coming up tomorrow morning and FOMC next week, it seems that guidance will be derived, at least in part, from those goings on.

As for today, we're finally settling down somewhere right on the edge between positive and negative on the day: