Rates inched higher Thursday as a stock market rally pushed mortgage-backed securities lower. In economic news, weekly Jobless Claims decreased to 385,000. The February Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.5%, slightly above forecast. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.2%, and was 1.1% higher than one year ago. Industrial Production fell by 0.1%. An increase of 0.6% had been expected. Leading Indicators rose 0.8%, close to expectations. No other key data will be released today.