Average long-term US mortgage rates inch up to 5.81%

By MATT OTT
AP Business Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates inched up this week following last week’s mammoth jump, the biggest in 35 years. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year rate ticked up to 5.81% this week, from last week’s 5.78%. Last week’s average was the highest since November of 2008 during the housing crisis. In its ongoing bid to tamp down inflation, the Federal Reserve last week raised its benchmark rate by three-quarters of a point, the biggest single hike since 1994. The Fed’s unusually large rate hike came after government data showed U.S. inflation rose in May to a four-decade high of 8.6%.