USA: Mortgage Applications Fall for 4th Week.

Mortgage applications in the US eased by 0.8% from the previous week on the period ending April 3rd, extending the cumulative 28.5% plunge from the three previous weeks, according to data compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The recent pullback was extended despite the respite for benchmark mortgage rates, which pulled back from the seven-month high last week. Long-dated Treasury yields retreated from recent peaks in the period as markets considered the growth side of stagflation concerns, easing bets that the Fed could return to hikes this year to contain energy-induced price growth. Still, credit sentiment for households remained muted on the large levels of uncertainty. Applications for a contract to refinance a mortgage, which are more sensitive to short-term changes in interest rates, fell by 3%. In turn, applications for a mortgage to buy a new home inched higher by 1% but fell 7% from the previous year, the first annual decline since January