Expressions in cout statement vs variable

Hello all.

Is it better programming practice to

1) output the value of an expression a * b in a cout statement as a variable containing its value

Code:

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  total = a * b;
  cout << total << endl;

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or

2) is printing value of the expression as calculated directly from the cout statement preferred?

Code:

---

  cout << a * b;

---

I searched around, but couldn't find any specific information regarding this. I've seen both in code.

Thank you for your time!

Do you need the total besides for output? If so, then the former is appropriate, otherwise the latter is appropriate.

The only time I need the total is for output.

Thank you for your response!