Average rate on 30-year mortgage slips

WASHINGTON — Average longterm U.S. mortgage rates edged slightly lower last week after two straight weeks of sharp increases. Expectations persist that the Federal Reserve may soon raise its key short-term interest rate.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped to 3.97 percent from 3.98 percent a week earlier. The key 30-year rate was close to its level of a year ago, 3.99 percent.

The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages declined to 3.18 percent from 3.20 percent.

While it kept the key rate at a record low near zero, the Fed recently signaled the possibility that a rate hike could come at its next meeting in December. Fed officials believed last month that the economic conditions needed to trigger the first interest rate hike in nearly a decade could “well be met” by that time, minutes of their October discussions released Wednesday showed.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond, which mortgage rates have been tracking, dropped to 2.27 percent Wednesday from 2.34 percent a week earlier.