Mortgage rates held steady Friday, showing little reaction to reports on Producer Prices and Retail Sales for August. The “core” Producer Price Index, which excludes food and energy components, rose 0.2%, in line with consensus. Retail Sales fell well short of expectations with a decline of 0.3%. Stocks moved lower. Oil prices rose in anticipation of supply disruptions resulting from Hurricane Ike. Traders now turn their focus to next Tuesday’s release of the Consumer Price Index for August and the Federal Reserve FOMC Meeting.