Rates inched lower Wednesday as a sharp sell-off in stocks boosted mortgage-backed securities. In economic news, December Housing Starts declined by 3% to an annual rate of 1,149,000, well below the consensus forecast of 1,200,000. Building Permits fell 4%. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined 0.1% and was 0.7% higher than one year ago. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy components, rose 0.1%, a bit below expectations, and was 2.1% higher year-over-year, the largest annual rate of increase since July 2012. No other key data will be released today.