Weekly mortgage applications in the United States rose in the week ending May 2 following two weeks of declines, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers' Association (MBA) on Wednesday, which said applications increased by 15.6%.

In the previous week, applications fell 11.1%.

The portion of fixed-rate mortgages increased 14.5% following the previous week's 10.4% decline, while those opting for variable rates increased 32.7% after the previous week's 20.3% decrease.

Compared to last year, the market composite index fell 4.4%.

The average loan size was $230.9k, above the previous week's $230.2k.

The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage moved down to 5.91% from 6.01%.

By Patrick McGee and edited by Nancy Girgis