U.S. 30-year mortgage rates jump to 8-month high

NEW YORK, April 8 (Reuters) - Rising bond yields sent U.S. 30-year mortgage rates to the highest level in eight months, home funding company Freddie Mac said on Thursday.

The 30-year loan rate average jumped to 5.21 percent in the week ended April 8 from 5.08 percent in the prior week and from 4.87 percent a year earlier.

The last time the long-term fixed borrowing rate was higher was in the week ended Aug. 13, 2009, when it averaged 5.29 percent, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates "followed bond yields higher amid a positive March employment report," Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said in a statement.

The economy added 162,000 jobs in March, the largest monthly gain in the past three years, and the employment in the two prior months was revised higher.

Treasury yields, which have been rising on signs of economic improvement, are used as a peg for setting mortgage rates.

Mortgage rates were also widely seen trending higher after the Federal Reserve pulled the plug March 31 on its 15-month program to buy more than $1.4 trillion in mortgage-tied debt aimed at keeping home borrowing costs low.

For rates table, click on [ID:nWAL8FE616] (Reporting by Lynn Adler; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)