Mortgage rates edge up

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Mortgage rates climbed this week following the release of employment figures, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.

The government-sponsored loan buyer said the rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan averaged 6.4 percent for the week ended Oct. 11, up from 6.37 percent last week.

Last year at this time, 30-year mortgage rates averaged 6.37 percent.

"The economy added 110,000 new jobs last month while July and August were revised upwards by a total of 188,000 jobs, reflecting greater strength in the economy during that time than initially indicated," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's (Charts, Fortune 500) chief economist, in a statement.

Nothaft also said the release of the minutes from the Fed's Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Sept. 18 reassessed the possibility of another interest rate cut.

"The market currently is looking for about a 30 percent chance of a 25 basis point rate cut rather than the 50 percent chance that they had previously expected," he said.

In its latest report, Freddie Mac said rates on 15-year fixed-rate loans averaged 6.06 percent in the latest week, up from 6.03 percent last week. A year ago, the 15-year rate averaged 6.06 percent.

Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 6.12 percent this week, up slightly from 6.11 percent last week. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 6.10 percent.

One-year ARMs averaged 5.73 percent this week, up from 5.58 percent last week. They were at 5.56 percent this time last year.