Rates on 30-year mortgages in the United States this week hit the highest level since late October last year, mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported on Thursday.

In the week ending Feb. 1, rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose to 6.34 percent from 6.25 percent last week, marking the fourth consecutive weekly increase.

This week's rates were the highest level since they averaged 6. 40 percent the week of Oct. 26, 2006.

Other types of mortgage rates tracked by Freddie Mac also moved higher this week.

Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, climbed to 6.06 percent from 5.98 percent last week.

Five-year adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) edged up to 6.04 percent from 6 percent while one-year ARMs increased to 5.54 percent from 5.49 percent.

A year ago, rates on 30-year mortgages stood at 6.23 percent while 15-year mortgages were at 5.81 percent, five-year ARMs averaged 5.87 percent and one-year ARMs were at 5.33 percent.

"Interest rates moved higher following the latest upbeat economic news," Freddie Mac's chief economist Frank Nothaft said.

The Commerce Department reported this week that the U.S. economy grew at a solid 3.5 percent annual rate unexpectedly in the final quarter of last year, up sharply from the 2 percent pace in the third quarter.

Source: Xinhua