Benchmark 10-year Treasury Hits 3.8%

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury was rising as the weekend approached with the rate reaching 3.83%, and stoking fears that the refi boom may get clipped. The yield on the 10-year had reached 3.70% during the recent rate spike but then subsequently had been trading in a range below that point. Contributing to the yield's move to a higher range were employment statistics that remained largely negative but included a job loss figure that was not as bad as expected. This adds to evidence that the economic downturn may be slowly decelerating over the next six to nine months as part of a "troughing" process, Credit Suisse chief economist Neal Soss said in a call to investors Friday morning. When it comes to how this affects housing "the most important thing will be mortgage rates" and how rates affect affordability, said Dan Oppenheim, U.S. homebuilders and building products equity analyst at Credit Suisse. However, he said that the increase in rates to date has not hurt affordability.