Mortgage rates in the U.S. declined for the first time in seven weeks. The average for a 30-year, fixed loan was 6.78%, down from 6.79% last week, Freddie Mac said Thursday in a statement. That’s still down from a year ago when the rate averaged 7.4%.

Freddie Mac reports the 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.79% for the week ending Nov. 7 — up from 6.72% last week.

Mortgage interest rates plunged in 2020 in response to a cut to the federal funds rate sparked by the pandemic. But they rose exponentially in the years that followed as inflation surged and the Federal Reserve issued a series of interest rate hikes aiming to keep it from rising further.