The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index on overall mortgage activity slid 6.2% to 576.2 in the week ended August 23, the sharpest decline in more than four months. Refinancing activity, which had been booming, dropped 7.8%, while loan requests to buy a home decreased by 4%.
The declines came as the average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 3.94%, the MBA said, after hitting its lowest since November 2016 the previous week at 3.90%.
The jump in mortgage rates was reportedly spurred by turbulence in the Treasuries markets as investors worried about how the burgeoning U.S.-China trade war could affect a slowing global economy.
