Mortgage rates moved higher Thursday. A brief sell-off of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) occurred late Wednesday as investors continued analyzing Fed plans to begin tightening monetary policy. The Fed will focus primarily on the interest rate paid to banks on excess reserves held at the Federal Reserve. The MBS market has been volatile this morning. Weekly Jobless Claims fell to 440,000, well below forecast. No more economic data will be released today, but there will be a 30-year Treasury auction at 1:00 PM.