by Associated Press
Published: Fri, January 04, 2008 - 7:20 am CST
Last Updated: Fri, January 04, 2008 - 7:27 am CST
WASHINGTON (AP) - Rates on 30-year mortgages are at their lowest level in a month as investors find new reasons to worry about a possible recession.Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reports that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.07 percent this week.
That's down from 6.17 percent last week and is the lowest level for 30-year mortgages since the week of December 6th, when they fell to a two-year low of 5.96 percent. That marked the only time the 30-year mortgage was below 6 percent last year.
Analysts attribute the decline in part to some weaker-than-expected economic reports. The Institute for Supply Management reported that its closely matched gauge of manufacturing activity dipped to the lowest level in nearly five years.
A Freddie Mac economist says the fall in the manufacturing index could possibly be a "harbinger of a more substantial economic slowdown" at the start of 2008.
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