Mortgage rates inched lower Thursday following news that Chinese officials denied yesterday’s report that China was considering scaling back its purchases of U.S. Treasuries. In economic news, the Producer Price Index (PPI) fell 0.1% last month, well below the consensus forecast for an increase of 0.2%. Core PPI, which excluded volatile food and energy components, also decreased 0.1% and was 2.3% higher than one year ago. Weekly Jobless Claims rose to 261,000, above estimates. Stocks moved higher. No other key data will be released today.