BANKING

Mortgage Rates Lower: Fixed-rate mortgages averaged 8.53% this week, down from 8.62% last week, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said. It was the lowest rate since mortgages also averaged 8.53% during the week ending April 12, 1974. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 6.23%, down from 6.29% last week and the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking ARMs in 1984. The rates do not include fees known as points.