Mortgage rates surge to their highest level in nearly three years
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, widely used by borrowers refinancing a home loan, also rose to 6.60% from 6.42% last week, up from 5.55% a year ago.
Bond market turbulence pushes rates higher
The primary catalyst behind the rate surge is a sharp climb in the 10-year US Treasury yield, the benchmark most lenders use to price home loans. It reached 5.34% early Thursday, up from 3.97% in late February.
Over the three months ending Wednesday, the 10-year yield posted its largest quarterly jump since 1994, driven largely by inflation expectations tied to surging energy costs.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, rose 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. It’s below the 3.7% forecast, but offering little reassurance to those watching the underlying trend.
