Mortgage Rates Soar to One-Year High Amid Inflation and Oil Price Pressures
US mortgage rates have risen to their highest level in a year, reaching 6.66% as of Thursday, according to Freddie Mac data.
The increase marks the steepest one-week rise over the past ten weeks and adds pressure on homebuyers amid persistent inflation and rising oil prices linked to ongoing geopolitical conflict.
The 10-year Treasury yield, a bond market benchmark used by lenders to price home loans, has climbed to 4.66%, up from 3.97% in late February before the war broke out.
While the Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged during its recent monetary policy meeting, some regional Fed bank presidents dissented in favor of higher rates to combat inflation.
The upward trajectory of US mortgage rates is already slowing the domestic housing sector, with mortgage applications falling 6.4% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.