BANKING

Mortgage Rates Lower: Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 8.59% this week, down from 8.60% last week, according to a national survey released by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. Rates had fallen for four straight weeks until last week’s advance. On one-year adjustable rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.94%, down from 5.96% last week. The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.