US mortgage applications plummet by 17pc

US mortgage applications fell by 17% in the week ended 11 October, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, extending the prior week's 5.1% drop.

Applications to refinance a mortgage plummeted 26%, while those to purchase a home were down 7% on the week.

Last week's decline marked the sharpest weekly contraction in mortgage demand since 2015, excluding the Covid-19 pandemic, and comes alongside a sharp increase in benchmark mortgage rates as the strong jobs report and red hot inflation print led to less dovish expectations for the Federal Reserve and boosted the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com