Due to the "shutdown" of the U.S. federal government, the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) report originally scheduled to be released by the U.S. Department of Labor on the 15th was postponed. Previously, the Ministry of Labor had postponed the September employment data statistical report originally scheduled to be released on the 3rd of this month.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, under the Department of Labor, is the official U.S. statistical agency. The publication of several important statistics that the agency is responsible for has been affected by the government's "stopping".

As an example of the monthly employment statistics report, the September report is basically completed before the "stop" and can be released after the "stop" ends or sooner, but the collection and processing of October data will be more affected and the delay in release may be longer.

Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said at the annual meeting of the American Association for Business Economics held in Philadelphia on the 14th that the Federal Reserve now evaluates the U.S. economic situation through economic data compiled by private institutions, but these channels cannot replace government statistics.

"The Fed will not have access to relevant data, especially for October." Powell said. "If the'shutdown 'lasts for a while, the situation will become more challenging." He said that the Fed is already in a difficult situation, and its two major policy goals are almost contradictory to boost employment and stabilize inflation.

Generally speaking, high inflation requires the Fed to keep interest rates high, and a slowing job market will push it to lower them. Data released by the Department of Labor in September showed that the number of non-farm payrolls in the United States increased by only 22,000 in August, a sharp drop from the revised 79,000 in July and far lower than market expectations; The consumer price index rose 2.9% year-on-year in August, the largest increase since January this year, and still higher than the Fed's long-term target of 2%.

The Federal Reserve's policy-making body, the Federal Open Market Committee, is scheduled to hold its next meeting from October 28 to 29. It is generally expected that in view of the continued weakness of the U.S. job market, the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again by 25 basis points after announcing a 25 basis point interest rate cut on September 17.