Consumers are about to find out just how much more they paid at checkout in November, one of the busiest shopping months of the year. <\/p>\n
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release inflation data for November at 8:30 a.m. ET. Known as the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, it will be the first batch of inflation data to be published since the government shutdown ended in mid-November.<\/p>\n
Analysts and economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect inflation overall to have risen to 3.1% in November. <\/p>\n
Americans consistently report that inflation<\/a> and everyday costs are the most pressing economic issues they face: 44% of adults chose \u201cinflation and the rising cost of living\u201d as their top concern in an NBC Decision Desk poll released Sunday.<\/p>\n The data coming Thursday morning will finally put a number on the feelings many consumers describe about rising prices.<\/p>\n During the 43-day shutdown, BLS employees did not collect all the data they needed to determine how prices had changed over October. BLS later confirmed<\/a> it would not release an October inflation report. <\/p>\n The few data points BLS was able to collect for October will be released alongside November\u2019s data on Thursday. However, without the full picture of October for comparison, it will be difficult to grasp the extent of November\u2019s price swings. <\/p>\n JPMorgan analysts wrote in a recent note that they expect the report to be \u201cmore uncertain\u201d and \u201clikely incomplete relative to prior releases\u201d because of the gap in October data. <\/p>\n They project that \u201ccore CPI,\u201d which excludes food and energy, will have risen 0.27% in October and November. The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland had a slightly higher estimate<\/a>.<\/p>\n September\u2019s inflation data, released during the shutdown, showed that inflation rose to 3%<\/a> that month, a slight increase from August\u2019s rate of 2.9%. Prices for housing, airline tickets, recreation, household furnishings and apparel all increased measurably.<\/p>\n Despite the October data gap, the Federal Reserve announced last week that it would cut borrowing costs<\/a> by a quarter of a percentage point. Behind the decision were concerns about the labor market, which has shown signs of weakening in recent weeks.<\/p>\n