by Calculated Risk on 6/12/2007 04:24:00 PM

Bloomberg reports: Treasury Yields Rise to Highest in Five Years on Growth Concern

Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasuries rose to the highest in five years ... The yield on the benchmark 10-year note rose to 5.25 percent, an increase of 9 basis points, or 0.09 percentage point, at 3:24 p.m. in New York ...

The following graph covers a longer time period (since April 1971) as compared to the graph presented this morning (since January 1999).

Click on graph for larger image.

Here is a scatter graph showing the 30 year fixed rate mortgage (Freddie Mac average monthly rate) vs. the monthly average Ten Year treasury yield for every month since April 1971.

The Green line shows the approximate current 10 year yield. This shows rates are still low compared to the last 35 years. Mortgage rates in the '50s and '60s were on the low end of the scale, but Freddie Mac doesn't provide any data for those periods.

It now appears the 30 year fixed rate will move up to 6.75% to 7% this week. As an aside, I'm always amused when the article tries to explain why rates are moving.