The Federal Reserve may have less information during the government shutdown, but “it’s not flying blind,” Jeff Erickson, Managing Director, Investments, told InvestmentNews recently. He points out that there are alternative sources of information on things like consumer auto and home sales, retail activity and credit card spending.
Furthermore, the Federal Reserve continues to gather data and publish the Beige Book which describes the regional economies, including labor market conditions, consumer spending patterns and price trends.
“Importantly there has not been any broad news on the economy or inflation that would cause them to change direction and hold back on another rate cut,” Erickson said.