For Americans, the growing cost of living continues to be a major issue. The Federal Reserve may have to get by without key inflation reports at its next meeting to decide whether to cut interest rates.
Prior to its crucial meeting in December, when it will determine whether to lower interest rates for the third consecutive month, the Federal Reserve will not have access to important data on U.S. inflation or job creation.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday that it will not be releasing an October consumer-price index, and the November CPI was rescheduled from December 10 to December 18, which is more than a week after the Fed’s next meeting.
According to the BLS, all of the monthly economic reports for November have been rescheduled since the agency was unable to gather important data for October due to the historic 43-day government shutdown.
The October and December employment estimates would not be released until December 16, as the BLS has previously stated.
The Fed’s decision at its meeting on December 9–10 will undoubtedly be complicated by the absence of important inflation and employment figures. Public remarks reveal that members of the Fed’s 12-member rate-setting committee are sharply divided on what to do next.
For their part, Wall Street investors now anticipate that the Fed will remain unchanged. Before the market’s dramatic decline this week, expectations of another rate decrease had been driving stock market gains.
