NEW YORK, May 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Mortgage rates pulled back slightly, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate settling at 4.00 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.23 discount and origination points.

The average 15-year fixed mortgage inched lower to 3.22 percent, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage fell back to 4.07 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages were mostly lower, with the 5-year ARM stepping back to 3.17 percent and the 7-year ARM retreating to 3.39 percent.

Mortgage rates broke a 4-week streak of increases, with rates settling after a nearly quarter-percentage point rise since late April. Ironically, a more upbeat tone to recent economic data helped the cause. The better tone to economic data makes it more likely the Federal Reserve will indeed raise short-term interest rates at some point in 2014. Any increase from the Fed would help keep inflation at bay, which is music to the ears of the investors that buy long-term government and mortgage-backed bonds. Mortgage rates are closely related to yields on long-term government debt. So looking ahead to an eventual increase in short-term interest rates, it is no guarantee we'll see the same movement on longer-term fixed mortgage rates.

Eighteen months ago the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 4.44 percent. At that time, a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,006.25. With the average rate now at 4.00 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $954.83, a difference of $51 per month for anyone refinancing now.

SURVEY RESULTS

30-year fixed: 4.00% -- down from 4.03% last week (avg. points: 0.23)
15-year fixed: 3.22% -- down from 3.23% last week (avg. points: 0.15)
5/1 ARM: 3.17% -- down from 3.19% last week (avg. points: 0.20)

Bankrate's national weekly mortgage survey is conducted each Wednesday from data provided by the top 10 banks and thrifts in 10 top markets.

For a full analysis of this week's move in mortgage rates, go to http://www.bankrate.com/mortgagerates

The survey is complemented by Bankrate's weekly Rate Trend Index, in which a panel of mortgage experts predicts which way the rates are headed over the next seven days. More than half of the respondents, 58 percent, expect mortgage rates to retreat in the coming week while just 17 percent forecast an increase. The remaining 25 percent predict that mortgage rates will remain more or less unchanged over the coming week.

About Bankrate, Inc.

Bankrate is a leading publisher, aggregator, and distributor of personal finance content on the Internet. Bankrate provides consumers with proprietary, fully researched, comprehensive, independent and objective personal finance editorial content across multiple vertical categories including mortgages, deposits, insurance, credit cards, and other categories, such as retirement, automobile loans, and taxes. The Bankrate network includes Bankrate.com, CreditCards.com, InsuranceQuotes.com and Caring.com, our flagship websites, and other owned and operated personal finance websites, including Interest.com, Bankaholic.com, Mortgage-calc.com, CreditCardGuide.com, CarInsuranceQuotes.com, Insweb.com, CreditCards.ca, and NetQuote.com. Bankrate aggregates rate information from over 4,800 institutions on more than 300 financial products. With coverage of over 600 local markets, Bankrate generates rate tables in all 50 U.S. states. Bankrate develops and provides web services to over 100 co-branded websites with online partners, including some of the most trusted and frequently visited personal finance sites on the Internet such as Yahoo!, AOL, CNBC, and Bloomberg. In addition, Bankrate licenses editorial content to over 500 newspapers on a daily basis including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe.

For more information contact:

Kayleen Yates
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
kyates@bankrate.com
(917) 368-8677

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SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.

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