A US federal data blackout deepened Thursday as a government shutdown halted the release of third quarter GDP figures, forcing policymakers, financial institutions and business owners to continue flying blind.

The world's biggest economy has already delayed reports on employment, trade, retail sales and others, only recalling some furloughed staff to produce key inflation figures needed for the government to calculate Social Security payments.

On Thursday, the shutdown entered its 30th day, with Republicans and Democrats still at an impasse.

Each assigns blame to the other side over the stoppage, with no quick solution in sight and food aid for millions now at stake.

While there were no official gross domestic product (GDP) numbers published on Thursday, economists surveyed by Dow Jone

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