The federal government recalled some furloughed workers specifically to produce the inflation report, which plays a key role for Social Security beneficiaries.

The first point to remember, economists say, is that the Fed believes its current benchmark interest rate — at a range of 4% to 4.25% — is so high that it is actually slowing down the U.S. economy. Fed officials have debated how much it is slowing the economy, but they all agree on this basic fact.

Futures traders see 96.7% odds that the central bank will trim the federal funds rate on Wednesday by a quarter percentage point, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Friday’s inflation report will be the first comprehensive economic data to be released in more than three weeks and will attract intense interest.

Understanding the complex relationships between gold and rising prices could reshape your investment strategy.

Economists expect prices to have risen 3.1% in September, which would mark a slight increase from a 2.9% year-over-year increase recorded a month prior. The anticipated reading would amount to the highest inflation since May 2024.

The government shutdown likely means there won’t be an inflation report next month for the first time in more than seven decades, the White House said Friday, leaving Wall Street and the Federal Reserve without crucial information about consumer prices.

The cost of living got even more expensive for Americans last month, with prices rising at the fastest pace since the start of the year.