US mortgage applications edged higher in the week ended 20 February, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, extending the modest improvement seen a week earlier despite a further drop in benchmark borrowing costs. Mortgage applications rose 0.4% week-on-week, following a 2.8% increase in the previous period, with the MBA highlighting that the only modest increase came despite mortgage rates falling to their lowest level in nearly four years, driven by soft risk appetite that pushed investors into long?dated Treasuries.