The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. held steady this week, not far from its highest levels this year, but below where it was a year ago.

The rate stood at 6.76% for the second week in a row, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 7.09%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, eased. The average rate dropped to 5.89% from 5.92% last week. It’s down from 6.38% a year ago, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including global demand for U.S. Treasurys, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions and bond market investors’ expectations about the economy and inflation.

After climbing to a just above 7% in mid-January, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage has remained above 6.62%, where it was just four weeks ago. It then spiked above 6.8% in the following two weeks and eased last week to 6.76%.

The recent swings in mortgage rates reflect volatility in the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

The yield, which had mostly fallen after climbing to around 4.8% in mid-January, surged last month to 4.5% amid a sell-off in government bonds triggered by investor anxiety over the Trump administration’s trade war.

The 10-year Treasury yield was at 4.33% in midday trading Thursday, up from 4.26% late Wednesday.

Elevated mortgage rates and rising home prices remain affordability hurdles for many would-be homebuyers. It’s why the spring homebuying season is off to a lackluster start. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in March, posting the largest monthly drop since November 2022.

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