NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. mortgage rates fell this week, with long-term rates declining for the first time in four weeks, as reports indicating little short-term inflation worries helped to lower interest rates, Freddie Mac said Thursday.

The rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loans dropped to 5.83 percent, with 0.6 of a point payable up front, in the week ending Nov. 21. Last week the 30-year averaged 6.03 percent and a year earlier it also averaged 6.03 percent.

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The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 5.17 percent from 5.39 percent last week. The 15-year averaged 0.7 point payable up front. A year ago, the 15-year rate stood at 5.44 percent.

Also down was the rate on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, loosely indexed to the 10-year Treasury note. The one-year ARM came in at 3.72 percent, with an average 0.7 point payable up front, down from 3.76 percent last week. That rate is well below the year-ago rate of 4.14 percent.

"Over the past week, several high ranking Federal Reserve officials gave speeches indicating that inflation remains a non-event," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist. "One official even suggested the possibility that inflation might go even lower is more of an issue for the Fed at the moment. Consequently, the bond market rallied and this caused mortgage rates to fall."

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"Meanwhile, fueled by low, affordable mortgage rates, housing starts came in at a nearly 18-year high in October, with an upward revision in September,"Nothaft added. "Our latest economic forecast calls for low inflation into the next year and as long as that holds true, there will be little upward pressure that might force interest rates significantly higher."

Freddie Mac's average mortgage rates are based on a survey of 125 lenders nationwide. The rates include those on mortgages accepted by borrowers with good credit ratings who place a 20 percent down payment on their homes, according to Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac (FRE: up $1.26 to $55.98, Research, Estimates), or Federal Home Loan 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.