Mortgage rates inched higher Tuesday on global inflationary fears. In economic news, the Standard & Poors/Case-Shiller Home Prices Index showed a 14.1% decline in home prices for the first quarter of 2008 compared the same period a year earlier. New home sales increased unexpectedly by 3.3% in April from March but were down 42% from April 2007. Oil dipped below $130 a barrel and the US Dollar was higher. Investors now await Wednesday’s report on Durable Goods Orders and Friday’s release of the Core CPE, a key gauge used by the Federal Reserve to measure inflation.