US mortgage applications fall 1.6pc

(Sharecast News) - US mortgage applications fell 1.6% week-on-week in the seven days ended 24 April, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, trimming the 7.9% jump from the earlier period.

Applications to refinance a mortgage, which are more sensitive to week-to-week changes in interest rates, fell by 4.4%, while applications to purchase a new home ticked up by 1.1%.

Last week's pullback came alongside a two basis point increase in benchmark mortgage rates, tracking the increase in long-term Treasury yields as inflationary risks from rising energy prices reduced the likelihood of the Federal Reserve moving to cut interest rates at its next policy meeting.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com