Freddie Mac: Benchmark mortgage average down from last week
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Freddie Mac (FRE:Freddie Mac
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Last: 0.56-0.02-3.16%
3:24pm 02/19/2009
FRE 0.56, -0.02, -3.2%) said Thursday that its benchmark mortgage rate average declined from last week following bond yields. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.04% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Feb. 19, down from last week's 5.16%. Last year, it was 6.04%. "Mortgage rates followed bond yields lower this week as recent economic reports suggest the economy is still slowing, which reduces the future threat of inflation," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist, in a statement. "And consumer sentiment fell in February for the first time in three months to near its lowest level since May 1980, while industrial production slowed in January by more than the market consensus
