US mortgage applications fall 1.5%

US mortgage applications dropped 1.5% in the week ended 15 December, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, halting a six-week run of increases.

Last week's fall comes despite benchmark Treasury yields continuing to decline following dovish signals sent by policymakers at the Federal Reserve.

Applications to refinance a home dropped by 2% month-on-month, but remained 18% higher year-on-year, while applications to purchase a home dropped 1%.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com