Mortgage Rates in the U.S. Slip, With 30-Year Loans at 2.98%

(Bloomberg) -- Mortgage rates in the U.S. fell, dipping back below 3%.

The average for a 30-year loan was 2.98%, down from 3.02% last week, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday.

Borrowing costs, which hit a record low of 2.65% in January, have seesawed within a few basis points of 3% since mid-April. Investors are anticipating Friday's release of the June jobs report, while monitoring the pace of inflation and keeping a close eye on the Federal Reserve, which is widely expected to taper its bond purchases in the coming months.

“We're wandering in a very narrow range,” said Keith Gumbinger, vice president at HSH.com. “Mortgage rates have been very stable, and surprisingly so, given that the economy is growing, given that there are inflation pressures that are evident out in the world.”

Cheaper mortgages have powered the past year's housing rally, giving Americans more purchasing power. But the surge in demand for a scarcity of listings has pushed prices out of reach of many would-be buyers.

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