The Wall Street Journal-20080215-Mortgage Rates Edged Up in Week

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Mortgage Rates Edged Up in Week

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WASHINGTON -- Fixed-rate home mortgages rose slightly in the latest week, according to Freddie Mac's survey released yesterday.

The national average interest rate on the benchmark 30-year, fixed- rate loan averaged 5.72% in the week ended yesterday, up from 5.67% a week ago, but lower than the year-earlier 6.30%.

The 15-year fixed-rate loan averaged 5.25%, up from 5.15% a week ago, but down from 6.03% a year ago.

The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 5.19%, compared with 5.21% a week ago and 6.01% a year ago.

"This week was relatively light on the number of economic data releases, which painted a mixed picture regarding the current state of the economy," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.