WASHINGTON • Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week for the first time in two months as global economic anxiety and market turbulence eased.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage increased to 3.64 percent from 3.62 percent last week. The benchmark rate remains below the 3.75 percent level it marked a year ago.

The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages edged up to 2.94 percent from 2.93 percent last week

Economists saw some positive signs in new data. The U.S. stock market started recouping losses from a brutal start to the year and ended last Friday with a second straight weekly gain. That brought a break in the recent trend of U.S. government bond prices being catapulted higher as investors sought safety.

The decline in U.S. bond prices raised the yields on the bonds, which mortgage rates follow. Yields approached their highest levels in a month. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond stood at 1.84 percent Wednesday, up sharply from 1.75 percent a week earlier. The yield ticked up to 1.85 percent Thursday morning.