U.S. MBA mortgage applications drop 7.3 pct for the week ending Sept 16

The number of mortgage applications in the U.S. fell during the week ended Sept 16th, as interest rates pushed higher, industry data showed on Wednesday. Mortgage Bankers Association said their mortgage market index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, dropped by a seasonally adjusted 7.3 percent in the week ending September 16 to 530.8. The drop follows a gain of 4.2 percent to 572.9 in the preceding week.

Applications to refinance a home loan also fell 8 percent for the week, while home purchase applications, fell 7 percent. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances rose to 3.7 percent, up slightly compared to 3.67 percent in the preceding week.

"Mortgage rates increased to their highest level since June last week as comments by some Fed officials made it appear that the Federal Reserve is closer to raising rates," said Michael Fratantoni, chief economist for the MBA.