Mortgage investors gave this morning's slightly stronger-than-expected 2.4% gain in the July Factory Orders report little more than a passing glance. Vehicle orders climbed last month by the most since January 2003, rebounding from a slump caused by supply disruptions linked to the earthquake in Japan. Stripping out the outsized gain in the transportation component of this data - so called "core" factory orders posted a very modest 0.9% gain for the month.



In a separate report the Mortgage Bankers of America said their mortgage application survey for the week ended August 26th showed overall mortgage loan demand slumped 9.6% on a week-over-week basis. Refinance requests fell by 12.2% while purchase applications edged 0.9% higher.



The contract rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgages finished the week at 4.32%, down 7basis-points from the prior week, down 13 basis-points from the month ago mark, and down 11 basis-points from this time one-year ago. Refinance requests represented eight out of 10 loan applications taken last week.