A partial shutdown of the US federal government blurred investors’ visibility into the health of the economy, bringing additional unease to markets already contending with a complex outlook. The dollar turned volatile and gold prices touched a new record high on Wednesday after lawmakers in Washington could not agree on a spending deal. The deadlock also bolstered market views that Federal Reserve officials will slash interest rates twice more this year, the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool showed.

With federal agencies shuttered, closely watched reports on the economy—including the September jobs report originally scheduled for release on Friday—will be put on hiatus until Congress passes a new funding bill. Before the shutdown, the Labor Department said on Tuesday there were 7.2 million job openings at the end of August, holding steady from the previous month amid modest declines in both hiring and layoffs. Payroll processor ADP estimated on Wednesday that private-sector employment shrank by 32,000 in September, driven by declines among small and mid-size companies. That marked the largest one-month decline since March 2023. As the labor market appears to wobble, the Conference Board’s measure of consumer confidence fell last month to its lowest level since April, as respondents expressed more pessimism over current business conditions and job opportunities.

Financial markets and global supply chains also face renewed trepidation as trade negotiations stretch into the autumn. A new webcast with PGIM’s Daleep Singh, Vice Chair and Chief Global Economist, and Shikeb Farooqui, Lead Asia Economist, addresses pressing questions on the future of US-China trade.