Mortgage rates rise

Mortgage rates rose sharply for the second week in a row, with benchmark 30-year mortgage rates at their highest level since late January.

The average interest rate on a fixed-rate 30-year mortgage was 5.91 percent for the week ending March 28, the mortgage company Freddie Mac reported Thursday.

Last week, rates on 30-year mortgages were 5.79 percent, after dipping to a record low rate of 5.61 percent the week before.

For 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, rates rose this week to 5.21 percent, compared to 5.11 percent last week.

Newspaper

J-W seeks comment on stock listings

The Journal-World is considering changing the way it presents listings of stocks, mutual funds and information on other financial markets. We would like to hear what type of information you want and need. In the past we have tried to provide listings for a variety of companies and funds of local interest, based on what we’ve heard from readers.

Let us know if there are companies or funds you would like to see in the Journal-World’s listings. If there are other features you’d like to see, we’d like to hear about those, too.

Send your suggestions to managing editor Richard Brack at rbrack@ljworld.com or by mail at Lawrence Journal-World, P.O. Box 888, Lawrence 66044.

Commodities

Oil hits wartime high

Oil prices rose above $30 a barrel Thursday for the first time since war broke out in Iraq, as concerns about worldwide supplies replaced early hopes for a quick end to the military conflict.

The price of oil on futures markets has risen nearly 13 percent since last Friday, when it dropped to a three-month low.

Crude oil for May delivery rose $1.74 on Thursday to close at $30.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after trading as high as $30.45. Oil is up 13 percent from last Friday, when it closed at $26.91.

Aviation

United, pilots’ union settle on contract

United Airlines boosted its prospects of emerging from bankruptcy by securing a tentative agreement on Thursday from its pilots’ union on a six-year contract that would cut annual costs by $1.1 billion.

The contract, if ratified by the company’s 8,200 pilots next month, is a significant step in United’s effort to slash costs as it scrambles to meet its lenders’ strict financial requirements and end three years of heavy losses.