Mortgage rates moved higher after remaining at around the same level for about three weeks. The rise in rates was driven by continued improvement in consumer spending and partly due to optimism around a forthcoming cut in short term interest rates, which should provide support for business and investor sentiment. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.81 percent with an average 0.60 point fee for the week ending July 17, 2019, up from last week when it averaged 3.75 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.52 percent.