US inflation eased for a second month in July, with consumer prices rising 3.4% from a year earlier, down from 3.5% in June, exactly as economists had forecast, a reading that hands neither side of a divided Federal Reserve fresh ammunition before next month's rate decision.

Another inflation reading comes as the Federal Reserve mulls potential interest rate hikes.

US consumer prices are expected to have risen modestly in July, potentially easing market expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike this year. However, inflation remains above…