(Oct 30): US mortgage rates rose to the highest level since July, leading to a fifth straight weekly decline in refinancing activity.

The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose 21 basis points to 6.73% in the week ended Oct 25, according to Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) data released on Wednesday. In the last four weeks, the rate has risen nearly 60bps, the most since March 2023.

MBA’s gauge of refinancing applications decreased 6.3% last week to the lowest since July. The stretch of declines is the longest in more than a year.

While the index of home purchases rose for the first time in four weeks, rising mortgage rates and still-elevated asking prices are limiting optimism that the housing market can stage a speedy recovery.

Mortgage rates track US treasury yields, which have jumped this month on signs of steady economic growth and some doubt whether Federal Reserve policymakers will deliver two quarter-point interest-rate cuts by the end of the year as officials had projected.

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.

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