Canadian banks have begun raising their fixed mortgage rates across the board to reflect the higher cost of borrowing in the bond market.

Royal Bank, CIBC, Bank of Montreal, and Scotiabank have raised rates on all of their short, medium, and long-term mortgages by up to a fifth of a percentage point.

Fixed mortgage rates are tied to bond yields.

The posted rate on a five-year closed mortgage rises to 6.65 per cent, up a fifth of a point. But banks typically discount posted rates by at least a full percentage point. For instance, RBC's discounted five-year mortgage is currently offered at 5.59 per cent, also up by a fifth of a percentage point.

The hikes reflect the higher cost of borrowing in the bond market, where banks finance their mortgage lending.

Bank of Canada data show that the yield of the five-year benchmark Government of Canada bond has risen from 3.80 per cent in early December to 4.04 per cent Monday.

Variable rate mortgages, on the other hand, are tied to prime rates, which rise and fall only when the Bank of Canada adjusts its key overnight lending rate. The central bank left that rate unchanged Tuesday, so variable mortgage rates will not be increasing.