Mortgage rates rise to 4.46 pct. as economy lifts

By DANIEL WAGNER

AP Business Writer

Rates on fixed mortgages edged up again this week after hitting their lowest level in decades last month.
Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate for 30-year fixed loans rose to 4.46 percent from 4.40 percent last week. Three weeks ago, the rate hit 4.17 percent, the lowest level on records dating back to 1971.
The 15-year loan also rose, to 3.81 percent from 3.77 percent. It hit its lowest point since the survey began in 1991 a month ago, when rates fell to 3.57 percent.
Mortgage rates are rising because strong economic news has drawn investors away from the safety of Treasury bonds. As demand for Treasurys decreases, investors demand higher yields from the government. Mortgage rates tend to track those yields.
Those yields have risen from yearly lows as the economic picture brightened over the past month. They climbed again Wednesday after reports showed factories boosting production, auto sales rising and many regions of the country seeing stronger economic growth.
To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac collects rates from lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a single day.
Rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.49 percent, up from 3.45 percent a week earlier.
Rates on one-year adjustable-rate home loans edged up to 3.25 percent from 3.23 percent last week.