Mortgage application volume rose 5.5 percent during the week ended Nov. 9, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly application survey, the Associated Press reported.

The MBA’s mortgage application index rose to 707.3, from 670.6 the previous week.

Purchase volume increased 4.8 percent, while refinance volume climbed 6.4 percent. Refinancings accounted for 50.2 percent of total applications. The index peaked at 1,856.7 during the week ended May 30, 2003, at the height of the housing boom.

Despite small increases in interest rates, the application volume climbed during the week ended Nov. 9. The average rate for traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose from 6.16 percent the previous week to 6.19 percent. The average interest rate for one-year adjustable-rate mortgages increased to 5.98 percent from 5.94 percent the prior week.

A reading of 707.3 means mortgage application activity is 7.073 times higher than it was in March 1990, when the MBA began tracking the data. The survey provides a snapshot of mortgage lending activity among mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. It covers about 50 percent of all residential retail mortgage originations each week.