WASHINGTON >> Mortgage rates dropped to a one-year low this week, but scope for further declines is limited as Treasury yields have risen after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell tempered expectations for another interest rate cut in December.

The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped to 6.17%, the lowest since October 2024, from 6.19% last week, mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac said today. It averaged 6.72% in the year-ago period and has dropped from 7.04% in January as the U.S. central bank resumed monetary policy easing.

The Fed on Wednesday cut its benchmark overnight interest rate by another 25 basis points to the 3.75%-4.00% range. But Powell cautioned that “a further reduction in the policy rate at the December meeting is not a foregone conclusion, fa

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