MBS RECAP: Strong and Stable all Day

It was a refreshingly strong day for MBS and Treasuries.  While the gains weren't immense by any standard, they were mostly present from the start of the day and never looked to be under dire threat. 

Weak economic data helped get things going in the morning, though it was a bit of a mixed blessing for MBS watchers as the data in question was close to home (weak New Home Sales).   The 5yr Treasury auction in the afternoon was lackluster at best--certainly not in the same league as the previous two examples from the Feb-April trend, though it did compare favorably with some older examples.

Beyond that, volume and participation picked up a bit, and there was a sense that financial markets were getting back to business after an extended holiday.  In the bigger picture, today's strength acted to maintain the ongoing range.  It's not that it was at risk of being broken, but today took levels back toward the middle of the range as opposed to progressing toward higher rates.