30-Year Mortgage Rate Dips to 4.50 Percent

Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages declined this week amid signs the economic recovery is slowing.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year loan fell to 4.50 percent from 4.57 percent last week.

The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage dipped to 3.54 percent from 3.59 percent last week.

Long-term mortgage rates have risen more than a full percentage point since May, when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke first signaled that the central bank could begin reducing its bond purchases this year.

The purchases have been intended to keep long-term loan rates extremely low.

The Fed voted Wednesday to continue the bond-buying program and cut its economic growth forecasts for this year and 2014.