The CPI data added to evidence that the Fed’s campaign to bring inflation closer to its 2% target is making progress. With inflation easing, tariffs clouding the outlook and employment indicators weakening, the Fed’s December meeting is shaping up as another key turning point in its post-pandemic policy cycle.

A big unknown ahead of the September CPI is how much the government shutdown, which started Oct. 1, impacts the data. Ten days later, statisticians at the Bureau of Labor Statistics were called back to work to complete the report.

BLS releases US CPI data for September, making it a key report for Fed's interest rate decision as shutdown halts other data.

The pace of inflation likely picked up last month, but not enough to prevent the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates next week. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to publish the consumer price index for September on Friday at 8:30 a.

September CPI came in softer than expected, with both headline and core inflation easing from August levels. Click here to read what investors need to know.

Friday's consumer-price index report likely leaves the Federal Reserve on course to cut interest rates next week and to maintain a soft bias favoring another cut at the meeting after that. Fed leaders

Stocks rallied Friday as investors weighed the latest data on inflation from the consumer-price index (CPI). The Dow booked its biggest weekly percentage gain since July.