US mortgage applications rose in latest week [2008-11-13]

NEW YORK - U.S. mortgage applications rose last week, fueled by increased demand for home purchase loans even as interest rates hit their highest level in nearly a year, an industry group's data showed on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications for the week ended July 6 increased 1.1 percent to 626.2.

Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 6.65 percent, up 0.15 percentage point, their highest since the week ended July 21, 2006, when it stood at 6.69 percent.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted purchase index rose 3.8 percent to 453.9. The index was above its reading a year earlier at 425.0. The purchase index is considered a timely gauge of U.S. home sales.

The group's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications decreased 3.0 percent to 1,636.9, its lowest since December 2006.