Mortgage applications in the US jumped 7.8% from the previous week on the period ending April 17th, extending the 1.8% increase from the earlier period, according to data compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The increase was aligned with a 7bps reduction in benchmark mortgage rates during the period, tracking the pullback in long-term Treasury yields as markets gauged risks to domestic inflation in a backdrop of higher energy prices. Applications for contracts to refinance a mortgage, which are more sensitive to short-term interest rate changes, jumped by 5.8%. In turn, applications for a mortgage to purchase a home, surged 10% following multiple weeks of deferral purchases.