UPDATE 1-Wall Street inches higher after CPI report, crude slides

U.S. stocks inched higher in choppy trading on Tuesday and the dollar dipped after a crucial report showed sticky U.S. inflation continues to meander along its slow, downward path as the Federal Reserve gathers for its December policy meeting. Crude prices tumbled over worries of softening global demand, although the U.S. economy appears robust enough to withstand the Fed's restrictive policy, for now. The Labor Department's Consumer Price Index (CPI) unexpectedly inched higher on a monthly basis in November, but edged lower on an annual basis, stoking concerns that inflation is taking longer to return to the Fed's 2% target than many had hoped and raising the possibility that the central bank will keep policy rates in restrictive territory for longer than anticipated.