Investing.com - The number of mortgage applications in the U.S. fell rose sharply last week, as interest rates moved lower, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Mortgage Bankers Association said their mortgage market index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased by a seasonally adjusted 9.3% in the week ending February 5 to 503.6. That follows a decline of 2.6% to 460.6 in the preceding week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances inched down to 3.91% from 3.97% in the preceding week.
"Treasury yields plummeted again last week amid a worsening global financial maelstrom, and mortgage rates dropped as a result," said Michael Fratantoni, chief economist for the MBA.
The survey covers over 75% of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.