Washington ? Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down slightly this week, the second consecutive decline, according to a nationwide survey of rates.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.24 percent this week, down from 6.26 percent last week.

The 30-year mortgage declined for three straight weeks at the beginning of the year, then posted four straight increases, hitting a high for this year of 6.28 percent three weeks ago.

Analysts noted that all of the changes had been very small. They forecast that moves for the rest of the year also were likely to be modest, provided the Federal Reserve does not feel the need to push interest rates up more aggressively to fight inflation.

“Our forecast calls for rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages to increase about one-quarter of a percentage point by the end of the year,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac.

If that forecast proves accurate, it would mean 30-year rates would be at 6.5 percent by December. Other analysts think that rates could go as high as 7 percent by the end of this year.

A year ago, 30-year mortgages averaged 5.79 percent.

Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancings, averaged 5.89 percent this week, unchanged from last week but up from 5.33 percent a year ago.

One-year adjustable rate mortgages edged up slightly to 5.34 percent from 5.32 percent last week. Such rates averaged 4.14 percent a year ago.