By Ruth Mantell
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The average rate on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 3.54% in the week ending April 4 from 3.57% in the prior week, Freddie Mac said Thursday in its weekly report. A year earlier, the 30-year rate was at 3.98%. "Fixed mortgage rates dipped slightly while the manufacturing industry showed signs of slowing," said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 2.74% in the latest week from 2.76% in the prior week. Meanwhile, the average rate on the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 2.65% from 2.68% in the prior week. The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM ticked up to 2.63% from 2.62%.
