Bernanke sends mortgage rates lower
By Julianne Pepitone, CNNMoney.com contributing writer Last Updated: July 23, 2009: 11:24 AM ET NEW YORK(CNNMoney.com) -- Home mortgage rates ticked lower after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank will continue to keep interest rates low. The average 30-year fixed mortgage slipped to 5.55% from 5.58% the week prior, and the 15-year fixed fell to 4.89% from 4.93%, according to the weekly national survey from Bankrate.com. Recently rates have been "yo-yoing as corporate earnings announcements and economic data toy with investor sentiment," the report noted. On Wednesday Bernanke gave his semi-annual congressional testimony on the state of the economy, saying the central bank will "likely keep interest rates low for an extended period of time," the Bankrate report noted. A separate Thursday report showed sales of existing homes disappointed again in June, rising just 3.6%. Current mortgage rates remain much lower than last year's levels, whe