New applications for U.S. mortgages fell for the week ending July 9, under pressure from lower demand for floating-rate home loans and reduced business activity during a holiday-shortened week, an industry group said on Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted market index, a measure of mortgage activity, fell by 6.3 percent to 643.9 for the week ending July 9 from the previous week's 687.
The Washington trade group's purchase index, a gauge of new loan requests for home purchases, fell last week by 6.4 percent to 468.8 from 500.9 in the prior week.
The Washington trade group's seasonally adjusted refinancing index eased by 6.1 percent to 1,662.4 from the previous week's 1,769.7.
Thirty-year mortgage rates, excluding fees, averaged 5.95 percent, down 1 basis point from the previous week's 5.96 percent. The 30-year rate was up 0.62 percentage point from one year ago.
Interest rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARM) averaged 3.93 percent, up 0.03 percentage point from the prior week. The one-year ARM rate was up 0.83 percentage point from the same time last year.
The group's barometer of ARM applications fell 13.4 percent to 4,451.9 last week from 5,138.8 in the prior week.
The share of new ARM applications filed last week was 31.5 percent, down from the prior week's 34.1 percent.
Monday, July 5 was the U.S. Independence Day holiday, during which many businesses and the financial markets were closed.
