Government shutdown leaves Fed without key economic data, Powell says

Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell The central bank said on Wednesday that it remains unclear whether the ongoing government shutdown and resulting lack of key economic data will impact the central bank’s December meeting.

With key indicators still missing due to the lockdown, Powell said the Fed will move cautiously until it has a clearer view of the economy.

“If you drive in fog, you slow down,” he said at the conclusion of the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The FOMC’s next policy meeting is scheduled for December 9-10.

The Federal Reserve cuts interest rates for the second time this year amid a weak labor market

Powell added that even without complete data, the central bank must continue its work.

“We’re going to have to do our job one way or another,” Powell told reporters at the conference. Federal Reserve. “I hope by the December meeting we will have a better flow of data,” he added.

He described the government shutdown, which has entered its fifth week, as a “temporary situation.”

The ongoing government shutdown is the second-longest in U.S. history. (Brendan Smalowski/AFP/Getty Images)

The partisan showdown threatens crucial economic data, leaving the Fed — and households — in the dark

“We’re going to collect every piece of data we can find, evaluate it, and think about it carefully,” he said. “That’s our job, that’s what we’re going to do.”

The Federal Reserve announced an interest rate cut for the second time this year, signaling continued efforts to support the labor market even as inflation remains above its target.

Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Building in Washington. (Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg/Getty Images/Getty Images)

“Despite the delay in official September employment data, available evidence suggests that layoffs and hiring remain low, and that households’ perceptions of job availability and businesses’ perceptions of hiring difficulty continue to decline,” Powell said.

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“We will not have the same detailed feeling about the economy,” he added. “But if there is a big or fundamental change, I think we will go for that.”

FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.