Mortgage Rates Drop to 21-Month Low

Mortgage interest rates fell to the lowest level in 21 months as investors fleeing Asian turmoil poured money into the United States. The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 7.18% from 7.23%, Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, said. The decline brought the average to the lowest level since the week ended Feb. 15, 1996. Mortgage rates have been keying off the U.S. Treasury securities market, where investors have been snapping up bonds. Thirty-year mortgage rates hit a peak for the year so far of 8.18% in early April after the Federal Reserve last tightened monetary policy.