US mortgage applications declined by 1% in the third week of August, following a modest 0.4% drop the week before, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The slight pullback coincided with a small basis-point increase in the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate, which remained near a one-year high. That move in rates reflected mounting concerns over soaring corporate debt levels, widening federal budget deficits, and a perceived lack of urgency at the Federal Reserve, all of which pushed 30-year Treasury yields to their highest levels in decades. Refinancing applications, which are more sensitive to short-term rate fluctuations, fell 2%.