The Bureau of Labor Statistics describes itself as “independent” and “non-partisan.” Economists and statisticians say this impartiality is key to the public and market’s trust in the data, as trillions of dollars can trade on the numbers at any given time.

The core PCE price index rose 0.3% from May to June, and 2.8% on an annual basis—a pickup from June 2024 that underscores the Fed has made limited progress on taming inflation in the past year.

Officials downgraded their view of the U.S. economy, but Powell cited inflation risk and “many, many uncertainties left to resolve” as reasons not to lower interest rates.

The value of core capital goods orders—a proxy for investment in equipment excluding aircraft and military hardware—dropped 0.7% last month, and bookings for all durable goods fell 9.3 percent.