Positive inflation data boosts Wall St

Wall Street managed a small advance for a second straight session today after the US government released benign inflation figures.

Investors who had waited anxiously for the Labour Department’s inflation report were pleased by the 0.6% drop in the Producer Price Index. Economists had forecast an 0.2% decrease. But May retail sales data, reported by the Commerce Department, fell a disappointing 0.5%, more than the 0.2% analysts expected.