Stocks inch up, oil dips as traders eye US-Iran talks

NEW YORK/LONDON, Aug 12 : Global equities were higher on Wednesday and oil prices dipped as traders eyed talks to end the Iran war and U.S. data showing only a slight rise in inflation damped some expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike.Talks between the U.S. and Iran were deadlocked. The United States and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis reported separate ship attacks. But oil prices dipped as investors weighed lower demand forecasts. U.S. consumer prices increased 0.1 per cent in July, in line with expectations, data showed on Wednesday. The small increase could weaken the argument for an interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve next month. Money markets have shown a roughly 50 per cent chance of a hike heading into the data release.The data "relieves some of the concerns that th