The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. ticked up this week to slightly above 7%, the highest level in eight months.

The rate rose to 7.04% from 6.93% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, it averaged 6.6%. It has risen for five straight weeks.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners seeking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate, also rose this week. The average rate increased to 6.27% from 6.14% last week. A year ago, it averaged 5.76%, Freddie Mac said.

The uptick in the cost of home loans reflects a rise in the bond yields that lenders use as a guide to price mortgages, specifically the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury. The yield on the 10-year Treasury has climbed from 3.62% in mid-September to 4.61% as of midday Thursday.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now the highest it’s been since May 9, when it was at 7.09%.

American Express has agreed to pay more than $138 million to resolve a wire fraud investigation related to its sales and marketing practices, federal authorities announced Thursday.

The New York-based financial giant provided inaccurate tax advice to customers and potential customers on wire products primary marketed at small and mid-size businesses, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York’s office said. Customers were told, for example, that the company’s fees were tax-deductible as a business expense.

Harry Chavis, a special agent in charge at the Internal Revenue Service’s office in New York, said the company “misled their customers by touting tax breaks that simply didn’t exist.”