Mortgage rates continue to climb

Mortgage rates rose again this week with 30-year mortgages hitting their highest level in four months and one-year adjustable rate mortgages rising to the highest level in more than three years.

In its weekly survey, mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose to a nationwide average of 5.89 percent, up from 5.82 percent last week.

It marked the sixth week in a row that rates on 30-year mortgages had risen, pushing them to the highest level since they averaged 5.91 percent for the week ending April 14.

Rates for one-year adjustable rate mortgages rose to 4.57 percent, up from 4.47 percent last week. That was the highest level for one-year ARMs in more than three years, since they averaged 4.66 percent in mid-July 2002.

Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing a home mortgage, averaged 5.47 percent this week, compared with 5.38 percent last week. This week’s rate was the highest since the first week in April.