MBA Mortgage Applications --
The Mortgage Bankers Association weekly applications survey released this morning showed that mortgage loan applications rose for the first time in six weeks; up 14.6% for the week ending Oct. 8.
The MBA reported a 0.2% drop in applications last week.
The refinance index also increased, up 21% from the previous week, but the seasonally adjusted purchase index dropped 8.5% after gains last week. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 83.1% of the total applications, up nearly 5 percentage points from 78.9% last week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of the market dropped to 5.4% from 6.1%.
Import Price Index Data --
Prices of goods imported into the U.S. fell in September, reflecting a drop in fuel costs that has since reversed.
The 0.3% drop in the import-price index exceeded the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and followed a 0.6% gain in August, Labor Department data revealed today. Prices excluding fuel climbed 0.3%, led by industrial supplies like metals and chemicals.
A 13% drop in the value of the dollar over the past four months is pushing up commodity costs even as the global economy cools, one reason why Federal Reserve policy makers last month said there were only ''small odds'' that deflation, or a protracted drop in prices, would take hold.
Compared with 2009, import prices were up 3.5% compared with a 4% increase in the 12 months ended August. They were forecast to rise 3.8%, according to the survey median. Year-over-year gains in import costs have cooled after exceeding 11% each month from January to April.
The cost of imported petroleum decreased 3.1% in September from the prior month, while prices were up 5.8% from a year earlier. Excluding all fuels, import prices increased 2.6% from September 2009.
