NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Long-term mortgage rates fell this week, with the 30-year rate slipping, but the one- and five-year rates posted slight gains, Freddie Mac said Thursday.

The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.32 percent for the week ending March 23, down from the prior week's 6.34 percent. In the year-ago period, the 30-year mortgage averaged 6.01 percent.

The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages dipped to 5.97 percent from 5.98 percent last week. A year ago, the loan averaged 5.56 percent.

"The most recent economic indicators released this week showed that inflation is, indeed, being held in check," Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, said in a statement.

"That news allowed long-term mortgage rates to drift a little lower for the second week in a row. Shorter-term rates, however, rose in reaction to a recent speech by Chairman Bernanke, of the Federal Reserve Board, that hinted at even further rate hikes this year."

Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 5.96 percent, up from 5.93 percent the prior week. The five-year loan averaged 5.35 percent last year.

One-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 5.41 percent, up from 5.37 percent from the week before. At this time last year, the one-year loan averaged 4.24 percent.

"Meanwhile, existing home sales for February were unexpectedly high, but experts think that this may be due to an unseasonably warm January when those contracts were closed," Nothaft said. "Nonetheless, the housing industry remains fundamentally fit as we move into the spring buying season."

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