Fed Delays Release of Consumer Credit Data

The Federal Reserve Board postponed its November consumer credit report--originally due out Tuesday--as snow in the capital added to a backlog of economic indicators delayed by the government shutdown.

No new date had been set, Fed spokesman Joseph Coyne said. Most federal offices in the District of Columbia and its suburbs remained closed after an Atlantic storm blanketed the region with more than 20 inches of snow.

Other federal agencies that produce economic statistics said Tuesday that it may be weeks before they can release any data.

“If we presume that we get back [today], we’ll be working on the backlog,” a Labor Department spokeswoman said. “All the indicators will have to be worked on, and there is a backlog.”

The release of data from the Labor and Commerce departments has already been held up for nearly a month because of the budget impasse and because of the crippling blizzard that kept government workers at home this week. The two departments churn out the bulk of economic statistics.

The Commerce Department may manage to publish some figures this week, said Everett Ehrlich, undersecretary of commerce for economic affairs.

These delayed reports include the final estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product, November housing starts and October merchandise trade.

In two to three weeks, Ehrlich said, Commerce plans to publish statistics on durable-goods orders and construction spending. The government is still planning to release the first estimate of fourth-quarter GDP on Jan. 26, he said.

Labor Department analysts’ first priority will be to collect information for the price and employment reports, said Katharine Abraham, commissioner of the department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.