June 4 (Bloomberg) -- Fixed U.S.
mortgage rates jumped to the highest level this year, signaling the Federal Reserve’s plan to lower borrowing costs has stalled.
The average 30-year rate rose to 5.29 from 4.91 percent a week earlier,
Freddie Mac, the McLean, Virginia-based mortgage buyer, said today in a statement. The last week the rate was higher was Dec. 11, when it was 5.47 percent.
Rising rates may deepen the U.S. housing slump and sideline consumers hoping to refinance or purchase their first house. The number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes climbed 6.7 percent in April, largely on cheaper financing costs, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury
note and Fannie Mae
mortgage bonds are higher than they were before the Federal Reserve said March 18 that it would buy as much as $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities to help drive down borrowing costs.
The Fed’s program, along with a plan to buy as much as $300 billion in Treasury securities, helped push rates to a record low 4.78 percent twice in April.
Treasury yields are climbing as investors anticipate a greater supply of government debt being sold to fund federal spending. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was 3.54 percent yesterday, compared with 3 percent on March 17, the day before the Fed announced its plan to boost mortgage-backed bond purchases and to buy Treasuries.
Yields on Washington-based Fannie Mae’s current-coupon 30- year fixed-rate mortgage bonds rose to 4.53 percent yesterday
ma uno che ha buttato in mare tanti mld di dollari per ottenere alla fine un risultato peggiore di quanto previsto, può ricoprire ancora quell'incarico ?