NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose this week to the highest level in more than two and a-half years, with the one- and five-year rates also posting slight gains, Freddie Mac said Thursday.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 6.37 percent for the week ending March 9, up from the prior week's 6.24 percent, Freddie Mac said. In the year-ago period, the 30-year mortgage averaged 5.85 percent.

The 30-year has not been this high since Sept. 5, 2003, when it was 6.44 percent.

"Stronger than expected gains in the manufacturing and service industries -- coupled with higher labor costs -- ignited inflation concerns, which led to the rise in mortgage rates this week," Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, said in a statement.

The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6 percent, up from 5.89 percent last week. A year ago, the loan averaged 5.38 percent.

Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 6.03 percent, up slightly from 5.97 percent the prior week. The five-year loan averaged 5.22 percent last year.

One-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 5.45 percent, up from 5.34 percent from the week before. At this time last year, the one-year loan averaged 4.24 percent.

"Financial markets are beginning to think that the Fed will hike rates three more times this year, instead of two, putting upward pressure on mortgage rates," Nothaft said.

"Although the signs are mixed, the housing industry is now beginning to shift into slower gear, and higher mortgage rates will only strengthen that change. However, we see no signs of a bursting bubble, but rather a return to a more normal pace of activity."

-- Freddie Mac has corrected the date of the most recent high, which was reported in previous versions of this story.

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