U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics delays release of October PPI report…Impact on Fed interest rate decision

Source: BlockMedia Original Title: US Bureau of Labor Statistics will not release October PPI report…How will this affect the Fed’s rate decision? Original Link: The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that it will skip the release of the delayed October wholesale price inflation report and will instead incorporate those figures into the postponed November report, which will be published on January 14 of next year.

Fed expected to face difficulties in assessing inflation indicators

The adjustment to the Producer Price Index (PPI) release schedule is the latest move by the BLS to catch up on government statistics that were missed during the government shutdown period.

While the monthly wholesale price report itself does not usually attract significant attention from policymakers, its data is crucial for calculating the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index. Therefore, the delay in the release of PPI figures suggests that the Fed will face additional challenges in assessing the current inflation situation.

Ahead of this week’s meeting, Fed officials will be forced to rely only on the relatively outdated data from September.