Mortgage Rates Rise to Four-Week High

Average interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages jumped to 7.34% this week, from a 20-month low the previous week. The increase from 7.26% a week earlier brought the average to its highest level in four weeks, Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, said. Rates have fluctuated this year, reflecting the financial markets’ nervousness about inflation. This year’s peak was 8.18% during the week ended April 3, after the Federal Reserve Board last tightened monetary policy. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, averaged 6.89% this week, up from 6.82%. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.55%, up from 5.49%, and the highest in five weeks. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.