Mortgage rates dip after a weak employment report

Mortgage rates retreated this week after weaker-than-expected employment data.

According to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixedrate average slipped to 4.59 percent with an average 0.5 point. (Points are fees paid to a lender equal to 1 percent of the loan amount.) It was 4.6 percent a week ago and 3.9 percent a year ago.

The 15-year fixed-rate average fell to 4.05 percent with an average 0.5 point. It was 4.08 percent a week ago and 3.90 percent a year ago. The five-year adjustable rate average dropped to 3.9 percent with an average 0.3 point. It was 3.93 percent a week ago and 3.14 percent a year ago.

The U.S. economy added 157,000 jobs in July, which was slightly below the expectations of many economists. A slowing job rate can indicate the economy is ebbing. That concern was enough to push mortgage rates down a bit.

“Mortgage rates fell slightly after an unexpectedly weak July jobs report, but are still above where they stood a month ago,” said Aaron Terrazas, senior economist at Zillow. “This week should be fairly quiet in bond markets, except potentially for Friday’s release of inflation data. A strong inflation report could put upward pressure on rates.”