Mortgage applications

Mortgage applications rose 12.5% from last week, breaking a month-long streak of decline and offering a positive note as summer approaches.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's index of applications for home purchases decreased 4.4% to 155 in the week ended May 30, which included the Memorial Day holiday.

The contract rate on a 30-year mortgage rose 6 basis points to 6.92% in the week ended May 16, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose slightly to 6.86% last week, as economic volatility calmed following the Federal Reserve's recent inaction.

An index of applications for home purchases jumped 11.1%, the most since January, while a gauge of refinancing increased at a similar rate, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday.

US mortgage rates rose again last week, reaching the highest level since mid-February and further depressing the appetite to buy homes or refinance loans.

The rate of new home sales picked up by 14% from the month prior, data provided by the Mortgage Bankers Association shows.

US mortgage rates jumped last week by the most since October on the back of heightened volatility in the Treasury market, causing a pullback in financing applications for home purchases and refinancing.

US mortgage rates fell to the lowest level since October, spurred by a rally in government bonds in the wake of an escalating trade war and driving home purchase applications to a more than one-year high.

Purchase applications reached their highest level since January despite the average 30-year fixed rate falling by just 1 basis point last week.