Mortgage rates went up Tuesday for the second time in two weeks as the Bank of Canada sent a strong signal that borrowed money is about to get more expensive.

RBC Royal Bank, TD Canada Trust, BMO Bank of Montreal and CIBC have all raised mortgage rates by up to three-tenths of a percentage point, effective Wednesday.

The posted rate for a five-year closed mortgage is now 7.14 per cent. The banks had boosted the rate for the five-year term to 6.84 per cent less than two weeks ago.

Other banks are expected to follow with rate hikes of their own.

Yields in the bond market, where mortgage financing is determined, jumped Tuesday after the Bank of Canada delivered a strong hint that it may boost interest rates soon — and perhaps more than once this year —  to fight inflation.

The yield on the benchmark two-year Government of Canada bond jumped more than a tenth of a percentage point to 4.57 per cent. It was just 4.18 per cent at the start of May.   

The posted rate for a five-year closed mortgage is now lower than those for two-year, three-year or four-year mortgages. That type of inversion is unusual, as banks usually charge more for locking in rates for longer terms.