The dearth of data on the state of the US economy caused by the federal government shutdown is set to continue after the Bureau of Economic Analysis postponed two releases that had been due on Wednesday next week.

The BEA said on Thursday that its planned releases of data on third-quarter GDP and September inflation would be rescheduled to dates to be advised, adding to investor uncertainty after fears of tighter than anticipated monetary policy contributed to the jitters hitting stock markets in recent days. With the Federal Reserve due to make its next decision on interest rates on December 10, the postponements risk leaving policymakers with even less to go on.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected GDP to come in at an annualised pace of 3 per cent in the three months to September 30, down from 3.8 per cent in the second quarter. Despite the expected decline, a 3 per cent reading would be a further sign that the economy has held up after a negative reading in the first quarter.