BANKING & FINANCE - Dec. 8, 1995

Mortgage Rates Move Lower: Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.18% this week, down from 7.33% last week, according to a national survey released by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. The latest reading is the lowest since Feb. 17, 1994, when rates averaged 7.11%. As recently as Nov. 23, 1994, rates were at about 9.25% before they started falling. On one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.53%, down from 5.60% last week. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for those refinancing mortgages, averaged 6.74% this week, down from 6.85% a week earlier. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.