Business

Rates on 30-year mortgages drop

Thursday, April 7, 2005 10:04 PM CDT

WASHINGTON (AP) - Rates on 30-year mortgages fell for the first time in two months as a weak jobs report eased concerns in financial markets about inflation.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.93 percent this week, down from 6.04 percent last week.

Last week's rate had been the highest since last July as rates rose for seven consecutive weeks, reversing five straight weeks of declines which had pushed the 30-year mortgage to a low of 5.57 percent on Feb. 10.

Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, fell to 5.48 percent this week, down from 5.58 percent last week.