Mortgage rates stay low

Fixed interest rates rose ever so slightly last week, with the 30-year mortgage rate at 3.90 percent and the 15-year at 3.13 percent, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.

Last year, the rates were 4.80 percent and 4.02 percent, respectively.

The five-year adjustable rate reached an all-time low of 2.78 percent, compared with 3.61 percent a year ago.

Fixed rates "held relatively stable this week amid signs that inflation remains in check," Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft said.

— Alan J. Heavens