US cancels third-quarter GDP advance estimate after government shutdown

Latest cancellation adds to fog as Federal Reserve considers rate cuts next month

Cargo containers on the Cosco Pride ship at the Port of Savannah, Georgia, on November 13.

The US will not release an advanced estimate of how the world's largest economy performed in the third quarter this year, adding to a lack of data caused by an extended government shutdown.

According to an updated calendar, the Bureau of Economic Analysis cancelled the release of data on US gross domestic product for the third quarter. The advanced estimate was originally scheduled to be released late last month, but was delayed due to the 43-day shutdown.

The BEA's updated calendar also showed a key inflation gauge for September is due to be released on December 5.

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The US government had said it would not publish a consumer inflation report for October, after another government agency said it would not release an update on the employment situation for that month because survey data could not be collected during the shutdown.

The cancelled GDP report adds to growing fog the Federal Reserve faces as it considers cutting interest rates for a third straight month in December. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are among five of the six Gulf Co-operation Council economies whose central banks follow Fed decisions because of the dollar peg. Kuwait's dinar is tied to a basket of currencies.

Policymakers on the Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee are debating which side of their dual mandate to tackle: controlling inflation or protecting the labour market.

About 80 per cent of traders anticipate the Fed will deliver another quarter-point cut next month, according to CME Group data, after New York Fed president John C Williams said last week that he sees “room for a further adjustment in the near term”. Due to his position, Mr Williams is an influential voice on the central bank's rate-setting committee.

The government shutdown has also delayed the International Monetary Fund's annual Article IV consultation with the US, a fund representative told reporters this month. The fund said it does not anticipate any major spillovers into the broader economy.