WASHINGTON — Prices companies charge at the factory gate went nowhere in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday, a cooler wholesale reading that helped send U.S. stocks to a record and pulled down bets on another Federal Reserve rate increase next month.

The Producer Price Index for final demand was unchanged on a seasonally adjusted basis after a 0.1 percent decline in June and a 0.5 percent rise in May. Over the 12 months through July, the index was up 4.7 percent, unadjusted — slower than the 5.5 percent year-over-year pace in June.

The monthly stalemate hid a split. Final-demand goods fell 0.7 percent, led by a 3.1 percent drop in energy. Gasoline prices alone dropped 5.7 percent and accounted for more than half of the goods decline. Foods fell 0.9 percent. Services rose 0.2 percent, and construction prices jumped 2.2 percent, offsetting the goods drop.

Core pipeline still warm

A closely watched core measure — final demand less foods, energy, and trade services — rose 0.4 percent in July after 0.1 percent in June. That index was also up 4.7 percent over 12 months. In other words, headline wholesale inflation cooled because fuel and food did; the rest of the pipeline did not go cold.

Inside services, portfolio-management fees jumped 6.5 percent. Truck transportation of freight fell 1.8 percent. Crude petroleum in the intermediate pipeline dropped 11.9 percent.

Futures markets cut the implied chance of a quarter-point Fed hike in September to about one in three, down from closer to even money a week earlier. Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin called it an “open question” whether more tightening is still needed. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack has argued inflation will not fade on its own.

What the tape did

The S&P 500 rose 0.65 percent Thursday to a record 7,798.99. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.81 percent to 26,803.03. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.13 percent to 53,839.99. The Russell 2000 remains the year’s surprise leader, up about 23 percent. The dollar index slipped below 100. Friday’s calendar still includes July retail sales and the University of Michigan’s preliminary sentiment reading.

For businesses, a flat PPI is not the same as cheap inputs. Energy helped. Core goods less food and energy still edged up 0.1 percent. Companies that sell services — and construction firms — are still passing through higher prices. The next PPI print is due Sept. 10.