US mortgage rates rose again last week, reaching the highest level since mid-February and further depressing the appetite to buy homes or refinance loans.
The contract rate on a 30-year mortgage climbed 9 basis points to 6.90% in the week ended April 18, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday. That followed a 20 basis-point jump in the prior week, marking the biggest back-to-back increase since early November.
Mortgage rates track US Treasury yields, which have risen recently as they lose their appeal as a safe haven. The Trump administration's tariffs and threats to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell are causing a reappraisal of US assets and damaging investor confidence in the central bank's independence.
MBA's index applications for home purchases fell for a second week to the lowest level also since February. The refinancing gauge plunged 20%, the most this year.
Data on March new-home sales will be released later Wednesday, while figures on the previously owned homes market are due Thursday.
The MBA survey, which has been conducted weekly since 1990, uses responses from mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. The data cover more than 75% of all retail residential mortgage applications in the US.
