Average fixed mortgage rates dipped for a fourth week in a row according to Freddie Mac today

The following are highlights from an Article, U.S. fixed mortgage rates fall 4th week, written by Rachel Koning, and published on CBS.MarketWatch.com

The rate on a 30-year loan was 5.66 percent, down from last week's 5.67 percent. Rates are little changed from where they stood one year ago. The average then was 5.68 percent, said Freddie Mac, which has tracked mortgages since the 1970s.

The average for the 15-year fixed mortgage this week was 5.14 percent, down from 5.15 percent. A year ago, the 15-year mortgage averaged 4.97 percent.

The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM, averaged 5.02 percent, down from 5.05 last week.

Short-term rates continue to rise amid expectations the Federal Reserve will nudge its borrowing target higher next week and possibly in subsequent months.

"Until the market gets a better read of how the economy performed at the end of last year and how the Fed interprets that information, interest rates will likely remain calm," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist.

The Fed next meets on Wednesday and is widely seen lifting its current 2.25 percent target to 2.5 percent. Friday's first look at fourth-quarter gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy, could also offer a signal on the scope of mortgage-rate changes, Nothaft said.

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch think the economy grew at about a 3.6 percent annual rate in the quarter. It would be the seventh quarter in a row of above-trend growth.