Fed interest rate moves affected by government shutdown

A looming government shutdown could prevent the Federal Reserve from raising rates in November, but not for the reason you might think, according to Bank of America.

Not only would the shutdown potentially slow down the economy and make a rate hike the wrong move, but a long impasse would mean central bank policymakers have only limited access to inflation data, the investment bank noted. That’s because unfunded agencies such as the departments of Labor and Commerce wouldn’t be producing key data reports on price trends.

“If the shutdown…