October CPI canceled and November inflation report pushed back until after Fed's next big interest-rate vote

By Jeffry Bartash

Government shutdown has delayed critical economic reports

The rising cost of living is still a big problem for Americans. The Federal Reserve may have to get by without key inflation reports at its next meeting to decide whether to cut interest rates.

The Federal Reserve won't see critical information on U.S. inflation or job creation before its pivotal meeting in December where it will decide whether to cut interest rates for the third month in a row.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday said it won't produce a consumer-price index for October, and the November CPI was pushed back to Dec. 18 from Dec. 10 - more than a week after the Fed's next gathering.

The record 43-day government shutdown prevented the agency from collecting key data for October, the BLS said, and that's led to the rescheduling of all the monthly economic reports for November.

The BLS had already announced that the employment estimates for October and December would not be published until Dec. 16.

This lack of key inflation and employments reports is sure to complicate the Fed's decision at its Dec. 9-10 meeting. Officials on the Fed's 12-member rate-setting committee are deeply divided over what to do next, their public comments show.

Economic calendar: Everything you need to know about recent and upcoming data reports and Fed speeches

Wall Street investors, for their part, now expect the Fed to stand pat. Hopes of another rate cut had been helping to fuel stock-market gains until the market's sharp pullback this week.

-Jeffry Bartash

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11-21-25 1216ET