Financial markets are pricing in roughly a 70 per cent chance that the Bank of England will increase interest rates by a quarter percentage point before the end of the year, a stark reversal from expectations only a fortnight ago when traders anticipated multiple rate cuts.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage was at 6.35% last week, its lowest level in nearly a year, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. A similar pullback in mortgage rates happened around this time last year in the weeks leading up to the Fed's first rate cut in more than four years. Back then, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage got down to a 2-year low of 6.08% one week after the central bank cut rates.
