Recent Updates
- Japan: ** Japan IP forecasts have rebased from 2010=100 to 2015=100. We are currently working on processing the new data.**
- ** New Zealand Jobs Online has changed its reported frequency from monthly to quarterly and rebased from August 2010=100 to Q4 2010=100. **
- Turkey: International Reserves (Mar); Mauritius: PPI Press (Mar)
- Spain: Flash GDP (Q1), Retail Trade (Mar)
- France: Preliminary CPI (Apr), Household Consumption of Manufactured Products (Mar)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
Kansas City Federal Reserve Factory Index Hits Record High
The Kansas City Fed reported that its index of regional manufacturing sector business activity surged to a record 26...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Decline Sharply
Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell sharply to 209,000 (-17.1% y/y)...
German Confidence Flattens and Falters
German confidence for May is mooted at a 97.8% queue percentile standing...
U.S. Mortgage Loan Applications Are Little Changed; Rates Remain High
The MBA total Mortgage Applications Volume Index eased 0.2% last week (-1.9% y/y)...
Japan Shows Very Moderate Growth As Trade War Clouds Gather
Japan’s sector indexes showed a solid gain in February...
by Tom Moeller March 2, 2005
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage applications fell 2.4% last week following two weeks of slight decline.
Applications to refinance plunged 9.9% w/w and reversed most of the gains of the prior three weeks.
Purchase applications did rise 5.3% but the average in February is up just slightly from January. During the last ten years there has been a 59% correlation between the y/y change in purchase applications and the change in new plus existing home sales.
The effective interest rate on a conventional 30-year mortgage rose to 5.98% versus 5.92% the prior week. The effective rate on a 15-year mortgage also rose to 5.59% last week.
The Mortgage Bankers Association surveys between 20 to 35 of the top lenders in the U.S. housing industry to derive its refinance, purchase and market indexes. The weekly survey accounts for more than 40% of all applications processed each week by mortgage lenders. Visit the Mortgage Bankers Association site here.
| MBA Mortgage Applications (3/16/90=100) | 02/25/05 | 02/18/05 | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Market Index | 710.1 | 727.9 | -19.2% | 735.1 | 1,067.9 | 799.7 |
| Purchase | 440.0 | 417.8 | 4.1% | 454.5 | 395.1 | 354.7 |
| Refinancing | 2,281.1 | 2,532.0 | -35.4% | 2,366.8 | 4,981.8 | 3,388.0 |
