Record lows have become routine for the Monthly Treasury Average, and last month was no exception. But the underlying yield has started creeping higher.
An analysis of Federal Reserve data indicates that the MTA was 0.16917 percent during January. It was the lowest ever that the index has been based on Fed data going back to 1953.
The index eased from 0.18167 percent in December, a record low at the time, and 0.31167 percent in January 2011, also the lowest level recorded up to that point.
The MTA is calculated by taking the average daily yield of the one-year Treasury note for each of the past 12 months and coming up with a 12-month average.
In January, the average daily yield on the one-year Treasury was 0.12 percent, the same as December.
Like the MTA, the one-year Treasury yield, itself, is used to determine rate changes on adjustable-rate mortgages. As of the end of January, the yield on the one-year Treasury was 0.13 percent, higher than 0.12 percent at the end of December. The one-year yield closed at 0.14 percent today.
ARMÂ share climbed to 4.31 percent in the U.S. Mortgage Market Index report from Mortech Inc. and Mortgage Daily for the seven days ended Feb. 3. ARM share has been lower almost every week since the week ended Dec. 9, when it stood at 6.16 percent.
