The volume of mortgage applications in the United States declined by 4.7% in the week ending October 3rd, extending the 12.7% drop recorded in the previous period, as the recent uptick in mortgage rates continued to deter prospective buyers. Applications for mortgage refinancing, which tend to be more sensitive to short-term interest rate movements, fell by 8%, while applications for home purchases eased by 1%. Meanwhile, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances (of up to $806,500) edged down to 6.43% from 6.46% the previous week, remaining above the one-year low of 6.34% reached in mid-September. Amid ongoing uncertainty over the trajectory of U.S. borrowing costs, more buyers are turning to adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs). These accounted for 9.5% of total applications last week, up from 8.4% a week earlier.