BANKING & FINANCE - April 8, 1994

Mortgage Rates Climb Sharply: Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 8.47% this week, up from 8.04% last week, and the highest in nearly two years. The figures are based on a national survey by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. This week’s level is the highest since mortgages averaged 8.48% during the week ended June 26, 1992. It is nearly 1 3/4 percentage points above the 25-year low of 6.74% last October. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 4.96%, up from 4.65% last week. Fifteen-year mortgages averaged 7.91% this week, up from 7.55% a week earlier.