Rates held steady Thursday on mixed economic data. This morning, weekly Jobless Claims increased to 294,000, above expectations. March Housing Starts rose by 2% to an annual rate of 926,000 units, well below the consensus forecast of 1,040,000. The Philly Fed index, a survey of manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region, rose to 7.5, a bit higher than expected. No other key data will be released today.