Around the World's Markets: New York

WALL STREET moved higher yesterday, after a surprising decline in a key inflation indicator eased worries about rising interest rates. By midday the Dow Jones was up 41 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 11,120.

The August Producer Price Index (PPI) rose by a surprisingly high 0.5 per cent but the so-called "core" PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, fell by 0.1 per cent. Economists had forecast a 0.3 increase in overall prices for August and a 0.1 per cent increase in the underlying figure.