Mortgage rates creep up

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Mortgage rates rose slightly in the latest week, but remained near recent lows, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.

The government-sponsored loan buyer said the rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan averaged 6.34 percent for the week ended Sept. 20, up from 6.31 percent last week.

Last year at this time, 30-year mortgage rates averaged 6.40 percent.

"Mortgage rates were largely unchanged in the previous week, with long-term rates lingering at lower levels not seen since May," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's (Charts, Fortune 500) chief economist, in a statement.

"The recent retreat in mortgage rates has brought in an increased volume of mortgage applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, and pushed the share of applications for refinancing to the highest rate since April," he added.

In its latest report, Freddie Mac said rates on 15-year fixed-rate loans averaged 5.98 percent in the latest week, up from 5.97 percent last week. A year ago, the 15-year rate averaged 6.06 percent.

Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 6.21 percent this week, up from 6.17 percent last week.

A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 6.08 percent.

One-year ARMs averaged 5.65 percent this week, down from 5.66 percent last week. They were at 5.54 percent this time last year.