Mortgage rates began the post-holiday week by holding the same sideways posture seen last week during the slow market days surrounding Thanksgiving.  Generally speaking, slow market days make for limited mortgage rate movement. 

The Monday following Thanksgiving is often something less than a full-fledged trading day for the investors that ultimately dictate interest rate momentum.  In other words, today's absence of change isn't abnormal.  There's a greater chance that we see some more movement in the coming days.

That's both exciting and ominous.  Rates are at something of a crossroads.  Put another way, rates are knocking on a floor that used to be a ceiling.  If they can make it back to the next floor down (into the range seen during the summer months), it would provide a solid indication that markets are starting to get legitimately nervous about a bigger-picture economic shift (i.e. broader declines in stocks, and decelerating growth).  Such a shift would be a big deal for long-term interest rate momentum.  It's too soon to say that's what we're seeing, but not too soon to be keeping an eye out for clues.