The headline on CNN.com reads Mortgage rates: biggest spike in 4 years. Sounds like a bit of a catastrophe doesn't it? The data is actually much more benign. 30 year rates are around 6.75% right now. That is up almost a 1/4 of a percent from a week ago and over 1/2 a percent since mid-May. But what was it a year ago? 6.8%. So not good news, but hardly a huge issue. Looking forward, inflation data remains benign. According to today's Wall Street Journal:

In economic data Thursday, the Labor Department said wholesale prices for May rose sharply for a fourth-straight month , up 0.9% on costlier energy. But outside the volatile food and energy sectors, prices were up just 0.2%. This suggests that, while inflation remains a risk, it doesn't appear to be taking a significant hold in the economy. Friday's consumer-price index data will be even more closely watched for clues about inflation."People were fearing disaster" from this morning's producer-price index report from the Labor Department, said Brian Reynolds, chief market strategist at MS Howells. "They got a report that wasn't too far from the consensus, and it led to a rally."

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