Mortgage applications resumed their recent run-up last week despite an increase in interest rates, according to the latest report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The industry group’s seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications climbed 1.6 percent to 686.2 in the week ended May 18 from 675.5 one week earlier, Reuters reported.

It was the highest reading since 690.5 in the week of March 9 and well above the 552.6 in the same week a year earlier.

Applications for both home purchases and mortgage refinancing climbed in the past week. Borrowing costs also climbed across the board.

Average 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, rose 0.1 percentage point to 6.23 percent from 6.13 percent the prior week, the biggest weekly increase this year.

In the same week last year, 30-year mortgage rates averaged 6.61 percent.

The MBA’s seasonally adjusted purchase index climbed 1.3 percent to 438.1 in the week ended May 18. The group’s refinancing applications index rose 1.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted 2,154.7.