US Mortgage Rates Jump to Highest Level Since November 2022

Image copyright: Reuters [via US News]

The Facts

  • The average interest rate on the most popular home loan in the US rose last week to its highest level since Nov. 2022, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed on Wednesday.

  • The average contract rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 23 basis points [i.e. 0.23%] up to 6.62%, in the week ending Feb. 17.


The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

The US Federal Reserve must continue to increase interest rates, no matter how painful it may be for workers now, how much it may temporarily increase unemployment, or how badly it may exacerbate a recession. Failure to stay the course and maintain high-interest rates now will only make it more difficult to keep inflation under control — it may well result in the Federal Reserve having to push interest rates even higher in the future than would otherwise have been necessary.

Establishment-critical narrative

Continuing interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve will crush millions of working families and increase unemployment, but it won’t tackle the real causes of inflation. The belief that inflation has been on the rise because workers are in a better bargaining position — known as the “wage-price spiral” — is a myth. Workers’ wages have increased but their real wages have dropped because they’re not keeping up with inflation. Inflation is currently caused by global supply-chain disruptions and profiteering by corporations that are raising their prices without restriction.


Establishment split

CRITICAL

PRO