The US government said Friday that it will not publish a consumer inflation report covering the month of October, as a record-long shutdown hampered its data collection.
This intensifies the fog surrounding the Federal Reserve ahead of its upcoming interest rate meeting, with a full report on the October jobs market also called off due to the stoppage.
The central bank balances risks to inflation and the labor market as it decides on the time and size of rate adjustments.
But these postponements mean that policymakers will not receive the latest government data on both fronts before their December 9-10 gathering.
The 43-day government shutdown from October to mid-November has already delayed publications of various economic indicators including those on retail sales and trade.
Although the halt is now over, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said Friday that it is “is unable to retroactively collect” October consumer inflation data.
As a result, it will not publish its October consumer price index report, originally scheduled for release on November 13.
Earlier this week, the BLS also said that it will not put out an October jobs report as the shutdown meant that some survey data — involving the unemployment rate — was not gathered.
Available data on the October employment market will instead be released with November’s numbers — after the Fed’s meeting.
A rapidly weakening jobs market could nudge the Fed to slash rates further and give the world’s biggest economy a boost.
But President Donald Trump’s tariffs this year have also made it harder to tame inflation quickly, prompting some Fed officials to consider holding rates steady for longer.
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