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Mortgage rates surge
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July 29, 1999: 12:56 p.m. ET
Greenspan testimony sparks inflation fears, boosts rates, says Freddie Mac
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Mortgage rates rebounded this week amid renewed inflation fears, mortgage firm Freddie Mac reported Thursday.
For the week ending July 30, the average rate on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was 7.70 percent, up from last week's 7.52 percent. One year ago, the rate was 6.97 percent.
Fifteen-year loan rates climbed to 7.29 percent from 7.16 percent the week before. The rate for these mortgages averaged 6.64 percent for the same period last year.
One-year adjustable-rate mortgages were 5.99 percent, up slightly from 5.97 percent last week. A year ago, the rate was 5.62 percent.
(Click here to see a breakdown of average mortgage rates by U.S. region.)
Robert Van Order, chief economist for Freddie Mac, blamed the surge on renewed fears regarding an interest rate hike.
"In recent testimony, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan indicated that the Fed would act promptly to raise interest rates in the event of cost and price increases," he said. "This reignited the market's fear of inflation, causing a whiplash effect that snapped interest rates out of the downward direction of the last few weeks."
Van Order said an increase in bond rates dashes hopes of lower rates in the very near future. 
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