US average 30-year mortgage rate rises to 3.46 percent

WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week amid expectations in financial markets that an increase in interest rates by the Federal Reserve may be on the horizon.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in a speech last Friday that the case for the Fed raising interest rates has been bolstered by a solid job market and an improved outlook for the U.S. economy and inflation.

Following Yellen's speech, investors' expectations of a possible rate increase pushed the prices of U.S. Treasury bonds lower and drove up their yields.