U.S. 30-, 15-Year Mortgage Rates Rise WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Interest rates on U.S. 30-year and 15-year mortgages edged higher this week amid signs the economy is improving, stoking inflation concerns, mortgage finance company Freddie Mac said on Thursday. U.S. 30-year mortgage rates rose to an average of 5.82 percent in the week to Oct. 7, up from 5.72 percent a week earlier. Freddie Mac said 15-year mortgages averaged 5.24 percent this week, compared with 5.12 percent last week. One-year adjustable rate mortgages followed the trend, rising to 4.08 percent from 3.97 percent a week ago. "The financial market thinks we've passed the 'soft patch' in the economy, which would translate into stronger growth," said Amy Crews Cutts, Freddie Mac's deputy chief economist. "Stronger growth means a greater threat of inflation and that means interest rates will start to rise in response to the threat," she said in a statement. Freddie Mac said despite this week's increase, rates are unlikely to rise much above their current levels through 2005. Wall Street will get a more comprehensive picture of the economy on Friday with the release of the September employment report, which is expected to show a rise of 148,000 payroll jobs after an increase of 144,000 in August. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 5.4 percent, the lowest rate since October 2001. This week, the Commerce Department said new orders at U.S. factories fell unexpectedly in August after a sharp drop in demand for civilian aircraft. Orders shrank 0.1 percent, the first decline in four months, after gaining a revised 1.7 percent in July. But excluding transportation the numbers were up 1.3 percent, and this solid tone chimes with recent forward-looking indicators that signal the underlying tone for factory activity remained healthy in the third quarter. A year ago, 30-year mortgage rates averaged 5.77 percent, 15-year mortgages 5.10 percent and the ARM 3.72 percent. Freddie Mac said lenders charged an average of 0.6 percent in fees and points on 30-year and 15-year mortgages and the ARM, all unchanged from a week ago. Freddie Mac is a mortgage finance company chartered by Congress that buys mortgages from lenders for packaging into securities for investors or to hold in its portfolio. Quelle "U.S. 30-, 15-Year Mortgage Rates Rise" : reuters.com Main page for "U.S. 30-, 15-Year Mortgage Rates Rise"