BANKING & FINANCE - Aug. 19, 1994

Fixed-Rate Mortgages Dip: Rates on the 30-year mortgages averaged 8.54% this week, down from 8.57% last week, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. Rates have hovered in the mid-8% range for most of the summer, though they averaged 8.72% during the week ended July 14. They had dipped to 8.38% two weeks ago. On one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.52%, down from 5.56% last week. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for people refinancing mortgages, averaged 8.05% this week, down from 8.08% a week earlier. Rates do not include fees known as points.