Mortgage rates rose for first time in eight months.

The Federal Home Loan Bank Board reported that interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages rose by one-quarter of a percentage point last month. The FHLBB said fixed-rate loans averaged 13.7% last month, up from 13.45% in early February. The bank board report found that rates for adjustable-rate mortgages, which accounted for half of all mortgages taken out in March, declined slightly during the early part of the month. The most popular adjustable-rate mortgage, with limits on how much the interest charge can go up or down, fell to 11.52% in March from 11.59% in February. Fixed-rate mortgages reached a high last year of 15.23% in July.