Mortgage applications increased in two weekly surveys. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) weekly index of gross mortgage applications increased 9.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending January 15 compared to one week ago. The Mortgage Maxx index that’s adjusted to reflect the number of households applying for mortgages increased 10.1% in the same period. The MBA said its refinance index increased 10.7% and the purchase index was up 4.4%, both from the previous week. The refinance share of mortgage activity accounted for 71.7% of all applications, up slightly from a 71.5% share of activity one week ago. The share of adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) activity was also up slightly to 4.1% from 4% a week ago. Write to Austin Kilgore.