WASHINGTON >> Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged lower this week for a third straight week.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped to 3.93 percent from 3.95 percent a week earlier. The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages eased to 3.16 percent from 3.18 percent.

The key 30-year rate was above its level of a year ago, 3.89 percent. Despite the recent declines, the rate has increased significantly overall since the end of October, when it stood at 3.76 percent.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise its key short-term interest rate at its policymaking meeting Dec. 15-16. It would be the Fed’s first interest rate hike in nearly a decade.

The expectation was bolstered Wednesday, when Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen indicated that the U.S. economy is on track for an interest rate increase this month, though she was careful to point out that the Fed will need to review any upcoming data before making a final decision.

Most notable among those data is the government’s November jobs report, which comes out Friday. Economists forecast that U.S. employers created 200,000 jobs last month and that the unemployment rate remained steady at 5 percent.

On The Move

>> Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert has hired Loren A. Seehase as an associate in the firm’s litigation and dispute resolution practice group. She served as a summer associate at Damon Key, working on litigation and transactional cases, and was also a law clerk/extern for Judge Lisa M. Ginoza of the state Intermediate Court of Appeals.

>> Summit Media has announced Andrew Rosen as president of Summit Media in Hawaii. He was previously a general manager with Connoisseur Media and was brought in to build and lead a national team at TargetSpot, a digital company headquartered in New York.

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