U.S. Mortgage Rates Reach Two-Month High, Impacting Home Buying

U.S. mortgage rates climbed to their highest level in nearly two months last week, affecting home buying activity. According to Odaily, data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Wednesday showed that the 30-year mortgage contract rate increased by 10 basis points to 6.56% for the week ending May 15, slightly below the 6.57% recorded at the end of March. Since the outbreak of the Iran war at the end of February, this rate has risen by nearly 0.5 percentage points. The index for home purchase loan applications fell by 4.1%, marking the largest decline since the week ending March 20. Meanwhile, the MBA refinancing index saw a slight decrease.