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30-year rates mark first drop in 6 weeks
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30-year rates mark first drop in 6 weeks
Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down for the first time in six weeks as investors saw evidence that inflation is not getting out of hand.
In its weekly survey, mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.17 percent this week.
That was down from 6.22 percent last week and marked the first decline in the 30-year rate since it dropped in early March to 6.14 percent, the lowest level for this year.
Analysts attributed this week's slight decline to the latest reports on inflation, which showed few price pressures outside of energy.
"Excluding food and energy, the core inflation rate for consumer prices rose 2.5 percent year-over-year, the smallest annual growth since May 2006," said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac.
Other mortgage rates also fell this week, Freddie Mac said in its nationwide survey.
Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, dipped to 5.89 percent, down from 5.90 percent last week.
Five-year adjustable rate mortgages were 5.92 percent, compared with 5.93 percent last week. One-year adjustable mortgages fell to 5.45 percent from 5.47 percent last week.
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