
The average US rate on a 30-year mortgage ticked up to 3.64 percent after tumbling to worrisome levels last week.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the United States rose to 3.64 percent, its first increase in two months. According to a report from the Washington Post, the increase follows an easing of worries over the global economy’s performance and turbulent stock markets abroad.
The news came as an announcement from mortgage buyer Freddie Mac this Thursday. Last week, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.62, below its level of 3.75 the previous year. While the increase was not big at all, many analysts were relieved to see the downward trend reversed.
The average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked upward too, rising just .01 percent over its level the previous week, from 2.93 percent to 2.94 percent.
The trend’s reversal comes after positive signs from the domestic stock market. After a tough start to 2016, the stock market had its second week of gains last week. This led to a slight drop in bond prices, signaling an easing in investor anxiety.
Following the dip in U.S. bond prices, the yields showed a slight increase. Analysts say that U.S. bond yields are at their highest levels in more than a month, with the yield on a 10-year Treasury bond rising from 1.75 percent to 1.84 percent last Wednesday. It rose a further 0.01 percent to 1.85 percent on Thursday morning as well. As a result of this increase in bond yields, experts say, mortgage rates began to rise slightly.
Despite the negative trend’s reversal, analysts still don’t expect the Federal Reserve to raise their short-term interest rates again anytime soon. The Fed last raised rates in December.
According to Sean Becketti, chief economist at Freddie Mac, “The market turbulence that kicked off the year subsided at the end of February, providing at least a temporary break in the flight to quality.”
A news release from Freddie Mac describing the recent uptick in mortgage rates can be found here.
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