Labor market and inflation data unlikely to be released after shutdown - White House

US labor market statistics and CPI consumer price index for October are unlikely to be released due to the US government shutdown, the White House said. Investors were counting on these data to assess the state of the US economy and forecast the Fed's rate decision at the December meeting.

"Democrats have likely done irreversible damage to the federal statistical system, causing the October CPI and jobs report to probably never be released," White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said, as quoted by Bloomberg.

The lack of data "is forcing Fed governors to fly blind at a critical period," Livitt added in a Bloomberg statement. The Federal Reserve will meet Dec. 9-10 to decide on the interest rate - after two consecutive cuts in September and October.

Stock indices Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 for an hour before the end of the trading day slowed down growth amid the words of Livitt. The S&P 500, which had been rising by about 0.14%, lost all of its gains and showed almost no momentum at the time of publication of this text. The Dow Jones was up 0.8%, but then the pace slowed to 0.7%. The Nasdaq Composite index, in which technology companies are heavily weighted, was down 0.35%.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) did not release its monthly jobs and consumer price index report in October due to the government shutdown. The BLS promised to provide further notice of what data it intends to release once it reopens, Barron's reports.

The lack of important economic data turned out to be the main reason for Wall Street's concern over the shutdown, CNBC wrote. Most analysts expected that the statistics would still be released, even if with a delay, the channel added. Economists and analysts believe that the Bureau will still be able to provide labor market and inflation numbers despite the gap in their collection: it's just that they will probably be more based on estimates than usual, Barron's added. It's possible that the BLS will decide to combine two months' worth of data on a particular indicator in a single publication to get back on schedule, Bloomberg speculated. The BLS did not respond to the agency's request for comment.

The U.S. government shutdown began on October 1 and has already become a record in the country's history. The government shutdown arose due to the delay in the adoption of the budget bill. On the night of November 11, it was voted on in the Senate, on Wednesday it is expected to be voted on in the lower house of Congress - the House of Representatives. If approved, the law will go to US President Donald Trump for signature.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor