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The US central bank reduced interest rates on Wednesday, marking the second rate cut this year amid economic turbulence stemming from the government closure and trade duties.

Move Arrives at Unprecedented Time for Central Bank

The move to reduce the benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to a span of 3.75% to 4% comes at an extraordinary moment for the Fed. The authority has been under significant strain to cut rates despite ongoing price increases.

Fed Statement Notes Job Market Shifts

In a statement, the Federal Reserve stated that the unemployment rate had gone up but remains low. “Job gains have slowed,” the release notes. “Price increases has risen and remains somewhat elevated.”

Government Shutdown Complicates Fed’s Job

The continuing federal government shutdown, now among the lengthiest in US history, has also hindered the central bank’s task. Gathering of important economic data has been indefinitely halted as employees at the BLS are on leave during the closure.

Data Gap Affects Policy Decisions

The Fed typically studies BLS data to assess employment trends, such as the count of employment gains created to the economy and the current unemployment rate. The most recent employment data was published in the beginning of last month, before the shutdown, and gave a somewhat gloomy snapshot of the jobs market in the previous month.

The figure of positions added to the economy in the summer month was lower by more than 100,000 since the spring, and unemployment crept up to four point three percent – the highest since three years ago.

Alternative Reports Indicate Ongoing Decline

Though the bureau was scheduled to publish September’s job market report in early October, it suspended its release once the closure began. Employment data company a leading payroll processor reported earlier this month that the business segment cut thirty-two thousand positions in last month, a sign that the employment landscape is continuing to slow.

“Supply as well as demand for labor has declined quite sharply,” central bank head the Fed chairman said recently, which he had earlier said comes from trade and immigration measures.

Inflation Report Reveals Gradual Increase

Though the bureau’s employment data has been paused, the bureau still released its price statistics for September that showed that prices are going up, although slowly. Prices rose three percent over the last year, the highest since January. In spring, the yearly price increase was two point three percent, the minimum it has been since three years ago. The Fed’s target inflation rate is 2%.