Fixed-Rate Mortgages Rise to 7.17%

The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 7.17% this week, the highest level since early March, the mortgage company Freddie Mac said. The increase, from 7.09% the week before, brings the average close to its four-month high of 7.19%, reached six weeks ago. It had hit a four-year low of 6.89% in mid-January as investors transferred money from Asia to the U.S. Fifteen-year mortgages averaged 6.81% this week, up from 6.74% last week and the highest since mid-October. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.67%, down from 5.68%.