The September consumer price index report coming out Friday will command full attention from financial markets, even as some investors will view the data with a skeptical eye.
With the Bureau of Labor Statistics already under scrutiny this year for its broad menu of data releases, the government shutdown gripping Washington, D.C., will only raise concerns from parts of Wall Street about whether the inflation reading will present a full picture.
“Skeptics like me are going to be focused on how clean is this data,” said Vishal Khanduja, head of broad markets fixed income at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. “What were the accommodations made for the lack of full personnel staff showing up? What adjustments were made before the data got reported?”
Indeed, the BLS this year has faced a host of questions over its data collection methods. President Donald Trump in August, furious over huge downward revisions in nonfarm payrolls data, sacked former BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer.
Though still considered part of the “gold standard” U.S. economic data collection apparatus, the BLS has also been criticized for its decidedly analog approach, which includes in-person visits, phone calls and written response forms.
