Mortgage applications in the US sank by 8.3% in the third week of May, extending the 2.3% drop in the previous period for the sharpest decline in nearly two months, according to data compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The drop was aligned with a fresh increase in mortgage rates, with the benchmark 30-year rate rising to a nine-month high of 6.65% as pro-inflationary risks from the war in the Middle East drove some long-term Treasury bond yields to peak at their highest since 2007. Applications for a loan to refinance an existing mortgage, which are more sensitive to short-term changes in interest rates, plunged by 18.1% from the previous week. Meanwhile, applications for a mortgage to purchase a home inched lower by 0.4%.