WASHINGTON, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Mortgage rates rebounded in the United States last week, the U.S. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, commonly known as Freddie Mac, said on Thursday.
For the week ending July 18, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) in the United States rose to 3.81 percent from previous week's 3.75 percent.
The 30-year FRM, the benchmark mortgage rate, was significantly lower than the averaged rate of 4.52 percent in the same period last year.
Freddie Mac noted that the 15-year FRM this week rose to 3.23 percent, which was higher than previous week's reading of 3.22 percent. It was also lower than the 4 percent rate in the same period last year.
"Mortgage rates moved higher after remaining at around the same level for about three weeks," said Sam Khater, chief economist of Freddie Mac.
"The rise in rates was driven by continued improvement in consumer spending and partly due to optimism around a forthcoming cut in short term interest rates, which should provide support for business and investor sentiment," Khater added.
Speaking of the outlook of housing market, Khater said that the improvement in housing demand should provide "sufficient momentum" for the housing market during the rest of the year.
Freddie Mac, a corporation founded by U.S. Congress, aims to promote the stability and affordability in the U.S. housing market by purchasing mortgages from banks and other loan makers. The corporation has been conducting weekly surveys on U.S. mortgage rate since April 1971.
