Mortgage Rates Climb for a 2nd Week

The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 6.83%, the highest since mid-November, mortgage company Freddie Mac said. The increase, from last week’s 6.77%, marks a second consecutive weekly rise for the average after it started a five-week slide from 6.93% on Nov. 12. The average has remained below 7% since mid-June, and it reached a 31-year low of 6.49% in early October. It peaked for 1998 at 7.22% in late April. Fifteen-year mortgages averaged 6.48% this week, up from 6.41% last week. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.63%, the highest since July and up from 5.58%. The rates do not include points.