According to CoinMeta, mortgage loan rates in the United States rose to their highest level in a year last week, further dampening the demand for home purchase loans in an already sluggish housing market. Data released on Wednesday showed that as of the week ending July 31, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased by 5 basis points to 6.81%. Rates had fallen to their lowest level since 2022 on the eve of the Iran war at the end of February. Since then, as the conflict drove up energy prices and exacerbated inflation concerns, rates have continued to rise. The result of this change is a weakening demand for loans; the mortgage application index, which measures the situation of loan applications, fell by 3.6% from the previous week to its lowest level in five months, and the refinancing index also declined by 1.9% to its lowest level since mid-2025.