US 30-year mortgage rates hold steady for second week

WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - U.S. 30-year mortgage rates held steady for a second straight week, home funding company Freddie Mac FRE.N said on Thursday.

Thirty-year mortgage rates were at an average of 5.88 percent, while 15-year mortgages dipped to an average of 5.40 percent from 5.42 percent last week, Freddie Mac said.

One-year adjustable rate mortgages, or ARMs, fell to an average of 5.10 percent from 5.18 percent.

Freddie Mac said the "5/1" ARM, set at a fixed rate for five years and adjustable each following year, averaged 5.48 percent, down from 5.56 percent a week earlier.

A year ago, 30-year mortgage rates averaged 6.17 percent, 15-year mortgages 5.89 percent and the one-year ARM 5.45 percent. The 5/1 ARM averaged 5.92 percent.

"Interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages held relatively steady for a second week, while ARM rates continued to decline amid market speculation that the Federal Reserve may cut rates again at its upcoming committee meeting," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, in a statement.

The Fed's next meeting on interest rate policy is scheduled for April 29 and 30.

Lenders charged an average of 0.4 percent in fees and points on 30-year mortgages and 0.6 percent on the 5/1 ARM, both unchanged from last week.

They charged 0.5 percent on 15-year mortgages, up from 0.4 percent last week, and 0.6 percent on the one-year ARM, down from 0.7 percent.

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 Melissa Bland; Editing by Dan Grebler)