US 30-year mortgage rates increase in latest week

WASHINGTON Dec 27 (Reuters) - Interest rates on U.S. 30-year mortgages rose slightly again this week, home finance company Freddie Mac FRE.N said on Thursday.

U.S. 30-year mortgage rates rose to an average of 6.17 percent from 6.14 percent last week, as fifteen-year mortgages remained unchanged at an average of 5.79 percent.

Freddie Mac said the "5/1" ARM, set at a fixed rate for five years and adjustable each following year, averaged 5.90 percent, also unchanged last week.

One-year adjustable rate mortgages inched upward to an average of 5.53 percent from 5.51 percent, Freddie Mac said.

A year ago, 30-year mortgages averaged 6.18 percent, 15-year mortgages averaged 5.93 percent and the one-year ARM averaged 5.47 percent. The 5/1 ARM averaged 5.98 percent.

"Stronger consumer spending and an increase in the core price deflator in November caused long-term bond yields to inch up over the end of last week and beginning of this week, with mortgage rates following," Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, said in a statement.

"Offsetting some of the increase, however, was a decline in November's index of leading economic indicators and a weak manufacturing report in Philadelphia for December," he added.

Lenders charged an average of 0.5 percent in fees and points on 30- and 15-year mortgages, both up from 0.4 percent the prior week. They charged 0.5 percent on the 5/1 ARM, unchanged from last week.

Fees and points charged on the one-year ARM averaged 0.7 percent, up slightly from 0.6 percent last week.

Freddie Mac is a mortgage finance company chartered by Congress that buys mortgages from lenders and packages them into securities to sell to investors or to hold in its own portfolio. (Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; editing by Gary Crosse)