Mortgage rates jumped Wednesday following the latest inflation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which found consumer prices increased 0.4% from February to March. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is now 7.29% — 0.23 points higher compared with a day earlier, according to Mortgage News Daily.

What You Need To Know

  • The average rate on a fixed 30-year mortgage was 7.29% Wednesday

  • Rates jumped 0.23 points compared with a day earlier

  • The higher mortgage rates follow the latest Consumer Price Index report that showed prices rose 0.4% between February and March

  • Federal Reserve rate cuts are likely delayed until at least July

Consumer prices rose 3.5% from March 2023 and March 2024, according to the bureau, likely quashing hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates three times this year, starting in June.

“Mortgage rates are likely to stay elevated for longer, perhaps through the peak spring and summer homebuyer season,” according to an analysis from the real estate website Redfin released Wednesday.

July is the earliest the Fed is likely to cut rates, but it may not be until September or even December, the analysis said.

“Today’s data and the implications for the Fed will almost certainly keep mortgage rates elevated in the near term,” Redfin said. “Absent new economic data that would allow the Fed to cut sooner, homebuyers and sellers may not see much — if any — relief through the traditional peak homebuying season.”