Overview

• Producer prices fell 0.1% in August versus expectations for a 0.3% rise, taking the annual PPI rate to 2.6% as core PPI also dipped 0.1% on the month and ran at 2.8% year over year.
• Services costs declined 0.2% with trade-service margins down 1.7%, including a 3.9% drop in machinery and vehicle wholesaling, while goods prices edged up 0.1%.
• Futures pricing now implies near-certainty of a 25-basis-point cut at the Sept. 16–17 Fed meeting with a small chance of a larger move, as investors await Thursday’s CPI for confirmation.
• President Donald Trump declared “No Inflation!!!” and renewed demands for immediate cuts, the White House credited tariffs, and economists noted tariff costs have been slow to pass through to consumers.
• Weaker labor readings—an official 911,000 downward revision to job growth through March and a soft August payroll gain with unemployment at 4.3%—have further reduced the bar for policy easing.