Business Digest

NATION

Mortgage rate drops

WASHINGTON — The average interest rate for a 30-year mortgage dropped to a record low of 4.71 percent this week, pushed down by an aggressive government campaign to reduce borrowing costs.

The rate, published Thursday by Freddie Mac, is the lowest since the mortgage finance company began tracking the data in 1971. The previous record of 4.78 percent was set during the week ending April 30 and matched last week.

Natural-gas prices expected to stay low

NEW YORK — Natural-gas prices have slumped well below what they were last year, and that trend will likely continue into 2010.

The New York Mercantile Exchange contract for January delivery at one point dropped to a new 52-week low of $4.432 per 1,000 cubic feet Thursday. The government then reported that the amount of natural gas in storage rose again, surprising most energy experts. The country has never had this much natural gas in storage.

For consumers, that likely means an extended period of cheap energy, though how long that will go on is not clear. But heating bills will be cheaper in most places, and power companies that use natural gas also will feel less pressure to raise electricity rates.

Associated Press