Rates held steady Friday despite stronger than expected economic data. This morning, April Retail Sales rose 1.3%, above the consensus forecast of 0.9%. Excluding the volatile auto component, sales increased 0.8%, also beating expectations for a gain of 0.5%. The April Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 0.2%, a bit less than expected. Core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy components, increased 0.1% in April and was a tame 0.9% higher than one year ago. Consumer Sentiment jumped to 95.8, well above expectations. No other key data will be released today.