Mortgage rates are rising for the third time in three weeks as the cost of borrowed money increases.

RBC Royal Bank announced Thursday that it would be boosting most of its mortgage rates by 0.15 percentage points. Other banks made similar hikes on Friday.

As of Friday, a five-year closed mortgage will carry a posted rate of 7.29 per cent.

That's the highest rate for one of the most popular mortgage terms in five years.

Banks normally discount their posted rates.

"Our research shows that Canadians get anywhere from a point to 1.3 per cent off the posted rate when negotiating," Jim Murphy, president of the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals, told CBC News.

But the hike to the posted rates also means that the discounted rates will face similar increases.  

The posted five-year mortgage rate will have gone from as low as 6.59 per cent to 7.29 per cent since May 17 — a jump of 0.7 percentage points.

Last week, the banks boosted their mortgage rates by up to 3/10ths of a percentage point after the Bank of Canada sent signals that borrowed money was about to get more expensive.

Yields in the bond market, where mortgage financing is determined, have been rising after the central bank 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 was 4.66 per cent in Thursday afternoon trading. 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. It's been that way since April.

That type of inversion is unusual, as banks usually charge more for locking in rates for longer terms.