June 3 (Bloomberg) -- Applications to refinance mortgages have tumbled since fixed, 30-year mortgage rates began moving up from a historic low at the end of April as the recession showed signs of easing.

“The window was there, and it’s closed,” said John Herrmann, chief economist at Herrmann Forecasting in Summit, New Jersey. “Rates won’t be an incentive for refinancing for the rest of the year.”

The CHART OF THE DAY shows a four-week moving average of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of applications to refinance fell 37 percent to 4056.75 in the week ended May 29 from the week ended April 10, while fixed 30-year loan rates rose to 5.36 percent yesterday from a low of 4.85 percent at the end of April, according to data from Bankrate.com.

Mortgage rates have followed Treasury yields lower since the government announced in November it would begin purchases of mortgage-backed debt, followed by massive purchases of Treasury debt in a bid to lower rates and spur demand in a housing market in its third year of a recession.

Signs that the worst recession in at least five decades began to ease in the second quarter, as well as concern over the widening U.S. deficit on increased borrowings, have since begun to push up yields.

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To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Willis in Washington bwillis@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 3, 2009 10:43 EDT