WASHINGTON >> Long-term U.S. mortgage rates marked their third week of declines this week, after snapping a nine-week run of increases.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the rate on 30-year fixed-rate loans fell to an average 4.09 percent from 4.12 percent last week. That was still sharply higher than a 30-year rate that averaged 3.65 percent for all of 2016, the lowest level recorded from records going back to 1971. A year ago, the benchmark rate stood at 3.81 percent.

The average for a 15-year mortgage declined to 3.34 percent from 3.37 percent last week.

Mortgage rates surged in the weeks since the election of Donald Trump in early November. Investors in Treasury bonds bid yield rates higher because they believe the president-elect’s plans for tax cuts and higher spending on roads, bridges and airports will drive up economic growth and inflation.

That would depress prices of long-term Treasury bonds because inflation would erode their value over time, a prospect that caused investors to demand higher yields.

Pizza Hut to hire 11,000 for Super Bowl

NEW YORK >> Pizza Hut is gearing up for the Super Bowl by hiring 11,000 people in the U.S. to make its pies, deliver them to hungry customers or manage its restaurants.

Super Bowl Sunday is the busiest day of the year for Pizza Hut, and it expects to sell more than 2 million pizzas during the game. It plans to fill as many of the positions as possible before the Super Bowl, but those that aren’t will be filled afterward.