The 200-day Moving Average has historically acted as a very strong "floor of support" or "ceiling of resistance" for Bonds, meaning that Bonds generally decidedly trade above or below this line. And the current tap-dance that Bonds are doing all over this level shows that there is a bit of uncertainty in the markets - and it will take a series of economic reports that are either very strong or very weak to propel Bonds to move away from the 200-day Moving Average.

And last week's news just didn't provide enough impetus for Bonds to make a decisive move one way or the other. Retail Sales were much better than expected yet Consumer Sentiment was lower than expected, while reads on Producer Price Inflation were a bit mixed. All in all, home loan rates stayed generally flat for most of the week.

Chart: Fannie Mae 6.0% Mortgage Bond (Friday Oct 12, 2007)