The volume of mortgage applications in the US rose by 3.2% from the previous week in the first week of March, recording its fourth consecutive period to the second highest level since 2022. The increase took place despite a fresh increase in benchmark mortgage rates, as the outbreak of war in Persian Gulf countries triggered a surge in energy prices and lifted the yield in long-dated Treasury securities. Applications for a mortgage to purchase a new home jumped by 7.8% after having underperformed the total figure for multiple weeks. In the meantime, applications for a contract to refinance a mortgage, which are more sensitive to short-term changes in interest rates, inched higher by 0.5%.