Fixed mortgage rates resumed their climb after a one-week pause after the Federal Reserve left unchanged the size of its program to reduce rates by buying home-loan securities.
The average 30-year rate rose to 5.42% Thursday, from 5.38% a week earlier, Freddie Mac said.
Mortgage rates climbed along with Treasury yields through late May and early June on investor concern that a greater supply of U.S. debt being sold to fund federal spending would fuel inflation.
In February through April, the central bank's purchases of mortgage bonds guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae brought down the yields on those securities, allowing lenders to reduce rates on new loans and still sell them at a profit.
On Wednesday the Fed left the size of its mortgage-backed securities buying program intact. The plan also includes the purchase of up to $300 billion of Treasury securities.
The Federal Open Market Committee "will continue to evaluate the timing and overall amounts of its purchases of securities in light of the evolving economic outlook and conditions in financial markets," it said Wednesday.
