Mortgage rates inched higher Thursday following the release of mixed economic data. This morning, November Retail Sales increased by 0.7%, beating expectations. Weekly Jobless Claims jumped to 368,000, far exceeding the consensus forecast of 325,000, but the data may have been distorted by the Thanksgiving holiday. Import Prices declined 0.6%, close to expectations. Results from today’s 30-year Treasury auction will be released at 1:00 PM.