Missing inflation and labor reports could impede the Federal Reserve’s and markets’ ability to assess monetary policy and economic conditions, increasing uncertainty and potential volatility. Reduced data transparency complicates fiscal and business planning and risks delayed responses to emerging economic problems.
A recent report suggests November’s inflation data may not be released because of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, echoing earlier disruptions that canceled the October labor-market report. The speaker criticizes the approach as effectively hiding bad data until agencies reopen and resume collection. Prediction markets currently do not expect the government to reopen before early November, raising the prospect of further gaps in official economic statistics. Absent timely data, policymakers and markets would be operating with weakened visibility into the economy.
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