This is a weird excuse:
Outdated computers are partly to blame for the delayed release of the U.S. producer price index and only “God knows when” the data will be ready, a top analyst at the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Monday.
The U.S. Labor Department statistical agency has indefinitely delayed the release of the January and February PPI reports due to problems converting the data to a new industry classification system.
The January PPI, which measures prices paid to farms, factories and refineries, was originally scheduled for release on Feb. 19. The February report was due to be released this coming Friday.
The nearly three-week delay for the January report is unheard of in the government’s statistics system. Some economists said they miss the wholesale price data, in part because it can offer early clues on profits and, by extension, hiring.
Computers? Hmmm. The PPI isn’t the most significant of economic numbers to hide; still, a delay like this seems a bit suspicious.