Mortgage rates little changed in week

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Interest rates on U.S. 30- and 15-year mortgages saw little change in the latest week, according to a weekly survey released by Freddie Mac (FRE.N) on Thursday.

U.S. 30-year mortgage rates averaged 5.67 percent compared to 5.68 percent a week earlier, while 15-year mortgages dipped slightly to an average of 5.15 percent from 5.17 percent.

One-year adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) averaged 5.03 percent in the week, down slightly from 5.05 percent last week.

Freddie Mac said the "5/1" ARM, set at a fixed rate for five years and adjustable each following year, averaged 5.21 percent, down from 5.32 percent last week.

In the same period a year ago, 30-year mortgages averaged 6.28 percent, 15-year mortgages 6.02 percent and the one-year ARM 5.49 percent. The 5/1 ARM averaged 5.99 percent.

"Long-term mortgage rates were little changed this week, largely in sync with the movements in the Treasury bond yields during the same time," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, in a statement.

"Additionally, economic news released in the past week showed that the economy continues to be weak," Nothaft said, noting the Labor Department reported a 17,000 loss in U.S. January nonfarm payrolls last week, the first decline in any month since August 2003.

Earlier on Thursday the National Association of Realtors said its December index of pending home sales fell 1.5 percent following a 3 percent drop in November.

Lenders charged an average of 0.4 percent in fees and points on 30- and 15-year mortgages, as well as the 5/1 ARM, all unchanged from last week.

Fees and points on the one-year ARM averaged 0.5 percent, down from 0.7 percent a week earlier.

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 Andrea Ricci)