Goldman Sachs delays its forecast for the Federal Reserve's second rate hike of the year to December, not ruling out the possibility that no further hikes will be needed.

Goldman Sachs on Wednesday pushed back its forecast for a second Federal Reserve rate hike this year from October to December, while not ruling out the possibility that the Fed may ultimately decide no further hikes are needed. This move is based on the US August core PCE price index rising 0.25% month-over-month and 3.01% year-over-year, which was below expectations. Goldman Sachs expects the core PCE price index to rise 3% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, significantly lower than the 3.4% median forecast by Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) participants. Additionally, Nick Timiraos, often referred to as the "newswire for the Federal Reserve," noted that the PCE report did not significantly alter the inflation trend, with market price indicators still hovering around 3%, indicating no further progress toward the 2% inflation target. In terms of market pricing, the CME FedWatch Tool shows that the market currently assigns a probability of approximately 39% to a rate hike in October, while the probability for a December hike has reached 90%.