U.S. mortgage applications were little changed on the week even as home borrowing costs jumped in step with a surge in bond yields during a selloff in the global fixed-income market, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

The Washington-based group’s seasonally adjusted measure on mortgage activity dipped 0.1% to 569.5 in the week ended Sept. 13, with loan requests for home purchases rising for a third straight week.

The Refinance Index decreased 4 percent from the previous week and was 148 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 6 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 16 percent compared with the previous week and was 15 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

"The jump in U.S. Treasury rates at the end of last week caused mortgage rates to increase across the board, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage climbing to 4.01 percent - the highest in seven weeks," said Joel Kan, MBA's Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. "Refinancing activity dropped as a result, driven solely by conventional refinances."

Added Kan, "The purchase index increased for the third straight week to its highest reading since July. Additionally, the average loan amount on purchase applications increased to its highest level since June. This is a likely a sign that the underlying demand for buying a home remains strong, despite some of the recent volatility we have seen."

The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, with conforming loan balances of $484,350 or less, increased to 4.01%, a seven-week high. In the prior week, it stood at 3.82%, which was the lowest since November 2016.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.42 percent from 3.28 percent.