UPDATE ................................ 11:53 PST , 2/13/08

If you have a deal that you were considering locking today, now may be the safe time as mortgage backed securities just broke through a technical floor of 100 and 22/32nds on the 5.5% coupon.

What this means is that the price on the 5.5% coupon has been bouncing up and down this morning on the line at 100 - 22/32nds.  When the price curve bounces off the same point over and over again as it has 5 times this morning, it creates a "floor" purely from a technical reading of the data.  As soon as a floor is broken, it can be an indication of further price weakening.

Remember, as prices drop, mortgage rates go higher.  If it was me, I would lock now unless my deals weren't closing for a week or so.  In that case, I might float on the hopes that there would be some more weak economic news in the coming week.

 Whatever the case, if the slide continues, a mid-day reprice for the worse is likely.