Still no sign of private sector credit expansion from housing.

US Home Loan Demand Drops, Rates at 10-Month High

February 9 (Reuters) — Applications for U.S. home mortgages dropped last week as the highest interest rates in 10 months sapped demand for home loan refinancing, an industry group said Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, fell 5.5 percent in the week ended Feb. 4.

The MBA’s seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications fell 7.7 percent last week.

The gauge of loan requests for home purchases was down 1.4 percent.

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 5.13 percent in the week, up 32 basis points from 4.81 percent the prior week.

It was the highest rate since the week ended April 9, 2010.