Data collection issues skewed the latest Consumer Price Index report, economists warned, clouding the picture for the Federal Reserve as it also grapples with a cooling labor market.

The person picked to replace Jerome H. Powell will be thrust into a credibility problem that will be difficult to escape.

© Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg; Eric Lee/The New York Times

Fed officials explained their opposition to the central bank’s decision this week to cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point.

© Caroline Gutman for The New York Times