Mortgage Rates Rose in Latest Week

Wall Street Journal (06/20/08) P. C6
Freddie Mac reports a jump in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 6.42 percent during the week ended June 19 from 6.32 percent the prior week, marking a nearly nine-month high. The 15-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.02 percent from 5.93 percent, the five-year adjustable mortgage rate climbed to 5.89 percent from 5.70 percent and the one-year ARM jumped to 5.19 percent from 5.09 percent. Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft attributes the gains to concerns about inflation after the consumer- and producer-price indexes for May were issued. Higher mortgage rates sparked an 8.7-percent drop in loan applications in the past week and a 21-percent decline year over year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.