US 30-year mortgage rates fall second straight week

WASHINGTON, May 15 (Reuters) - U.S. 30-year mortgage rates fell for a second straight week, according to a survey released by home funding company Freddie Mac (FRE.N) on Thursday.

U.S. 30-year mortgage rates dipped to an average of 6.01 percent from 6.05 percent last week, while 15-year mortgages held steady at an average of 5.60 percent.

One-year adjustable rate mortgages, or ARMs, fell to an average of 5.18 percent in the week from 5.29 percent.

Freddie Mac said the "5/1" ARM, set at a fixed rate for five years and adjustable each following year, averaged 5.57 percent, down from 5.67 percent a week earlier.

A year ago, 30-year mortgage rates averaged 6.21 percent, 15-year mortgages 5.92 percent and the one-year ARM 5.48 percent. The 5/1 ARM averaged 5.92 percent.

"Recent remarks by Federal Reserve officials, which partly bolstered optimism that financial markets will recover later this year, helped mortgage rates ease up a little this week," Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, said in a statement.

"Despite the bleak housing market, there was positive news on the overall state of the economy. Retail sales excluding automobiles rose 0.5 percent in April, over twice that of market forecasts, and there was a significant upward revision in March's figures as well. Also, the consumer price index for April rose less than expected, allaying some market concerns of inflation taking hold," Nothaft said.

Lenders charged an average of 0.6 percent in fees and points on 30-year mortgages, up from 0.3 percent last week, and 0.5 percent on 15-year mortgages, also up from 0.3 percent.

Charges on the 5/1 ARM averaged 0.6 percent, up from 0.5 percent last week, while fees and points on the one-year ARM averaged 0.7 percent, compared with 0.6 percent a week ago.

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)