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Consumer prices rose less than expected in August year‑over‑year, per the Federal Reserve’s main inflation gauge, the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday.

The PCE price index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% for the month, bringing the 12‑month increase to 3.4%. Dow Jones‑surveyed economists had forecast a 0.3% monthly rise and a 3.7% yearly gain.

Stripping out food and energy, the PCE index climbed 0.2%, putting the annual core rate at 3.0%. Expectations were for a 0.3% monthly increase and a 3.3% yearly core figure.

Although the Fed officially tracks the headline PCE, policymakers usually view the core measure as a clearer signal of longer‑term inflation trends.

While the yearly increases were below forecasts, they arrived as the Bureau of Economic Analysis tweaked the calculation method for several index components. It was not immediately evident how those revisions affected the final numbers.

After the release, stock‑market futures edged higher and Treasury yields slipped. Traders dialed back the odds of an October Fed rate hike, shifting the next expected increase to December.

“This is good news for investors uneasy about the recent jump in bond yields, and it strengthens the argument against an October hike,” said David Russell, global head of market strategy at TradeStation. “Nevertheless, the data are already somewhat stale and do not capture this month’s spike in diesel prices.”

The report also noted that personal income rose 0.2% while spending rose 0.9%, compared with consensus estimates of 0.4% for income and 0.8% for spending.

Both figures remain well above the central bank’s 2% target, leaving open the chance that the Fed could follow its September rate increase with another hike at either its October or December meeting.

Energy costs drove the August price rise, though many other sectors also advanced. Gasoline surged 4.4% and transportation services climbed 1.4%. Energy goods and services overall rose 2.3%.

Goods and services prices each posted a 0.3% monthly gain.

In other Wednesday economic news, the Commerce Department said second‑quarter GDP grew at a 2.2% annualized rate, according to the final of three estimates. That was up sharply from the earlier 1.5% estimate and reflected stronger contributions from consumer and government spending as well as investment.

Real final sales to private domestic purchasers—a metric Fed officials monitor to gauge underlying demand—rose 4.6%, an upward revision of 0.4 percentage point.

Inflation measures for the April‑through‑June period were also a bit lower, with headline PCE prices up 5.0% and core at 3.3%, each 0.3 point below the prior estimate.

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Oil prices fell Tuesday as Saudi Arabia’s crude exports from its Red Sea ports recover from an attack on a key pipeline earlier this month.

Brent crude

Satellite imagery has confirmed a “major operational recovery” at the Yanbu and Muajjiz terminals, according to a Kpler note published Tuesday.

A total of 12.5 million barrels were loaded onto nine tankers at Yanbu from Saturday through Monday, according to Kpler. Exports from Yanbu were disrupted by the drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline earlier this month, raising fears of another major hit to global supplies.

But Riyadh has restored flows through the pipeline to around 3.5 million barrels per day, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News on Monday. Its maximum capacity is 7 million bpd.

U.S. and Iranian officials, meanwhile, spoke to mediators on Monday as they try again to negotiate a deal to end the seven-month-long conflict.

Iran offered last week to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in seven days if the U.S. commits to the conditions in the failed June memorandum of understanding. But President Donald Trump on Saturday rejected Tehran’s proposal as oil exports through Hormuz recover.

Oil flows through Hormuz have hit a seven-day average 13.2 million barrels per day, which is 77% of the 17 million bpd that transited the waterway before the U.S.-Iran war, according to Kpler data.

The U.S. military provides protection to tankers from its Gulf allies and maintains a blockade against Iran’s exports.