White House downplays potential leak on CPI report | Forexlive

The pop in US equity futures three minutes before the CPI release certainly looked suspicious today and the White House was asked about the potential for leaks.

“We’re seeing that reporting,” the press secretary said. “I think there’s too much too much weight being put into that… there were no leaks from here. I can tell you definitively, or at least I’m not aware of any leaks. And I know they were very strict security protocols to prevent leaks.”

I love this pivot from ‘there were no leaks from here’ to ‘I’m not aware of any leaks’ in record time.

For the life of me, I can’t understand why the White House needs to get the data before it’s released. Sure, you get a bit more time to craft a clever statement but who cares? And how much time do you need anyway? Why not have everyone get the data at the same time aside from a small group at the statistics office that’s monitored closely. If there’s a leak, at least that narrows down who was behind it.