Mortgage rates begin to take off

Are the banks profiteering or are they expecting higher inflation? I reckon it is the latter.....

LONDON (Reuters) - The cost of taking out a new fixed-rate mortgage rose to its highest level this year in July, extending a jump of around half a percentage point in June, figures from the Bank of England showed on Tuesday.

The rise partly reflects a shift in longer-term interest rate expectations but it also casts doubt over banks' willingness to take on new lending and the potential for a housing market recovery.

The average rate on a five-year 75 percent loan-to-value mortgage rose by 16 basis points to 5.7 percent, its highest level since October.

The average rate on a similar product fixed for two years rose by one basis point to 4.46 percent, its highest level since December, having jumped by 47 basis points in the previous month.