WASHINGTON, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Even as mortgage rate remained low in the U.S. housing market, mortgage applications in the United States dropped last week, Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday.

For the week ending April 5, MBA's market composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, dropped 5.6 percent from a week earlier.

MBA's data also showed that the refinance index, a measurement of mortgage refinance activity, decreased 11 percent from the previous week.

"As quickly as refinance activity increased in recent weeks, it backed down again in response to the rise in rates," said Mike Fratantoni, MBA senior vice president and chief economist.

Latest data from the U.S. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, commonly known as Freddie Mac, showed that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in the United States averaged 4.08 percent for the week ending April 4, up from the previous week when it averaged 4.06 percent.

"Mortgage rates inched back up last week, but remain substantially lower than they were in the second half of last year," he said.

Meanwhile, MBA's seasonally adjusted purchase index edged up 1 percent from one week earlier.

"This spring's lower borrowing costs, coupled with the strong job market, continue to push purchase application volume much higher. Purchase applications are now up more than 13 percent compared to last year at this time," he added. Enditem

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