Rates held steady Friday in volatile trading. Mortgage-backed securities’ prices initially lost ground following the release of inflation data that surpassed forecast. The January Consumer Price Index (CPI) was unchanged, but the “Core” CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy components, rose 0.3%. Core CPI was 2.2% higher than one year ago, slightly above the Fed’s target rate for inflation, to the highest level since June 2012. Mortgage-backed securities were later boosted by a decline in stocks. No other key data will be released today.