FX.co ★ US Mortgage Applications Inch Higher

In the week concluding on May 9th, mortgage application volumes in the United States experienced a modest increase of 1.1% compared to the previous week, building on an 11% rise observed in the earlier period, as reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association. This upward trend aligned with a general stabilization of key borrowing rates, fueled by the temporary halt on the implementation of additional reciprocal tariffs against China. This pause in tariff hikes revived some interest in home purchases, following the decline noted in April. Specifically, applications for mortgages to purchase new homes saw an uptick of 2.3% over the previous week. Conversely, mortgage refinancing applications, which are more susceptible to short-term interest rate fluctuations, experienced a slight decrease of 0.4% from the prior week.