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Mortgage rates dip again
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June 14, 2001: 1:13 p.m. ET
Weaker-than-expected economic data keep long-term rates low for 2nd week
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Mortgage rates continued to slip lower for a second week as new key economic data Thursday pointed to continued absence of inflationary pressure on the economy.
According to Freddie Mac, the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 7.14 percent for the week ending June 15, down from last week's average of 7.20 percent. A year ago, the same mortgage averaged 8.22 percent.
The average this week for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.70 percent, down from the previous week's average of 6.74 percent. A year ago, the same rate stood at 7.91 percent.
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One-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.82 percent, down from last week's average of 5.85 percent. The same mortgage averaged 7.21 percent at this time last year.
"Mortgage rates continue to hover just over 7 percent, where they have been for most of 2001," Freddie Mac chief economist Robert Van Order said. "Today's release of the Producer Price Index, an early inflation indicator, was weaker than expected. This leads the financial markets to see more room for the Fed to act at its next meeting at the end of this month, thus keeping fears of inflation and mortgage rates low."
[Click here to see a breakdown of U.S. mortgage rates by region]
Freddie Mac (FRE: Research, Estimates), or Federal Home Mortgage Corp., is a publicly traded company the government established in 1970 to provide a flow of funds to mortgage lenders.
It buys mortgages from banks, bundles them and then resells them as mortgage-backed securities. Its products, and the products of other similar entities, have become increasingly popular as an alternative to government-backed bonds, particularly with international investors. 
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