Despite more encouraging news regarding a coronavirus vaccine, mortgage rates fell significantly this week, nearing their lowest levels since August.

Treasury yields, which generally drive mortgage rate movements, initially ticked up following news of another coronavirus vaccine contender, but the upward movement was only a fraction of the surge that followed a similar announcement from the week before. The uptick was also quickly erased by more sobering statistics regarding the spread of COVID-19, questions about distribution challenges for  an approved vaccine, as well as a disappointing reading on U.S. retail sales. The lackluster results of the latter report inserted fresh pessimism into markets regarding the state of economic recovery and drove investors to seek safer assets, pushing mortgage yields downward.

Such a muted reaction to the latest vaccine news makes it unlikely that mortgage rates will spike higher anytime soon, absent any concrete decisions regarding vaccine approval and distribution, or a slowdown in the virus’s spread.