By Deborah Levine
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Treasury prices gained modestly on Wednesday, pushing yields down, after a pair of reports showed housing starts improved less than some economists expected and core wholesale prices remained benign last month. Yields on 10-year notes (UST10Y 3.69, +0.02, +0.44%) fell 3 basis points to 3.66%. Housing starts fell 4% to a 557,000 pace last month. Separately, the government's producer price-index rose 0.2% in December. Core prices, excluding food and energy, were flat last month.
