US inflation up 0.3% in August, 3.4% year over year
US inflation rose 0.3% in August, with prices rising less than expected, up 0.3% from July and 3.4% over the year.
The core inflation rate (which skips food and energy) stayed steady at 3%.
Even though that's still above the Federal Reserve's 2% goal, some parts of the data were weaker than expected.
Fed rethinks next move
After raising rates earlier this month to fight higher prices, the Fed is now rethinking its next move.
New York Fed President John Williams said there's probably no need for another hike in October, which has people guessing what'll happen at the late October meeting.
Still, most officials expect at least one more rate bump sometime in 2026, but as Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management, puts it, "if inflation improves further, the Fed could potentially skip a meeting or avoid raising rates three times in a row."
Basically: keep an eye on upcoming data; that'll shape what happens next.