Mortgage rates little changed

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Mortgage rates were little changed this week as labor productivity rose higher than forecast and pending existing home sales weakened, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.

The government-sponsored loan buyer said 30-year fixed-rate loans averaged 5.72% for the week ending Thursday, up from 5.67% last week.

Last year at this time, the 30-year rate averaged 6.30%, Freddie Mac said.

"This week was relatively light on the number of economic data releases, which painted a mixed picture regarding the current state of the economy," said Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) vice president and chief economist Frank Nothaft in statement Thursday.

"On a positive note, labor productivity rose higher than market forecasts in the fourth quarter of 2007 while gains in labor costs slowed. However, pending existing home sales fell for the second month in December, indicating further weakness in home sales for January and February," Nothaft added.

Freddie Mac said 15-year fixed-rate loans averaged 5.25%, up from 5.15% last week. A year ago, the 15-year rate averaged 6.03%.

Rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.19%, down from 5.21% last week. A year ago, the 5-year rate averaged 6.01%.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.03%, unchanged from last week. At this time a year ago, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.52%.