Liu Jie/Xinhua via Getty Images
Information about Wednesday’s release of the key consumer price index was circulated early on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, according to a statement from the agency.
“Benefit [Wednesday’s] BLS said in its CPI and Real Earnings release that BLS accidentally uploaded a subset of files to the website about 30 minutes before the release. a brief statement.
The statement provided few other details, but noted that the Labor Department agency notified the Department’s Office of Management and Budget and Office of Inspector General.
“BLS takes the security of its data very seriously and is conducting a full investigation into its procedures and controls to ensure the incident is not repeated,” the office said.
No other information was provided related to the early announcement of CPI, a key inflation indicator showed another gain in April, albeit slightly less than what the Wall Street consensus had predicted. BLS officials did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment Thursday morning.
Stock market futures rallied after the 8:30 a.m. ET release, although there was little unusual activity in the previous half-hour, suggesting that the early release went unnoticed widely and does not seriously affect transactions.
“It’s strange, because normally you would watch for all the signs beforehand and I didn’t notice anything unusual, so I wondered what it was,” said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group. How important is it?” “I see nothing that helps explain any of the transactions that took place before.”
BLS several years ago revised the way it publishes data. The agency previously provided the media with advance copies stored at the bureau’s Washington, D.C., office for timely release at 8:30 a.m.
However, department officials under the Donald Trump administration expressed concern that customers of some of the locked stores were receiving an unfair trading advantage through the system and terminated the agreement. Information is currently available on the website at approximately 8:30, without prior notice.
“You always have to wonder who screwed this up,” Boockvar said. “I don’t think it’s something persistent. It seems like it’s a one-time thing.”
The CPI all items A gauge of goods and services across the growing U.S. economy showed a monthly gain of 0.3%, slightly below estimates of 0.4% and a 12-month rate of 3%. .4%.
Core inflation, excluding food and energy, was at 0.3% monthly and 3.6% annually, the lowest since April 2022. Stocks closed sharply higher on Wednesday.
