Mortgage rates jump for the sixth-straight week

Borrowing money to buy a home in the US has become more expensive for each of the past six weeks, even as the Federal Reserve is expected to announce another interest rate cut later Thursday.

The average on a standard, 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.79% in the week ending November 7, according to data released by Freddie Mac on Thursday.

The recent climb in mortgage rates may be unwelcome news for prospective homebuyers who may have anticipated that a rate cut from the Federal Reserve would result in a drop in home borrowing costs.

Mortgage rates had drifted lower over the summer, eventually reaching a two-year low of 6.08% in late September after the Fed slashed its benchmark interest rate for the first time in four years.

But mortgage rates track the 10-year US Treasury yield, which has steadily risen in recent weeks on the back of strong economic data. The 10-year Treasury yield leaped even higher on Wednesday after Donald Trump won the US presidential election against Vice President Kamala Harris.