Here's where the economy is starting to show 'K-shaped' bifurcation

Amid recession fears, a government shutdown and tariff uncertainty, consumers are increasingly diverging in their spending.

Wealthier Americans are engaging their purchasing power, while lower-income Americans are starting to pull back — commonly described as a “K-shaped” economy. Friday's consumer price index report could shed more light on the pressures facing large swaths of the country.

The CPI report, which measures price changes across a range of goods and services, was delayed due to the government shutdown, originally scheduled to be released nine days prior. Though the report will not include any data related to the shutdown, it will offer a read on the state of inflation ahead of a Nov. 1 deadline for the Social Security Administration to calculate annual cost-of-living adjustments.

Lower- and middle-income consumers have been hit hardest by rising costs on daily essentials like groceries and gas. Meanwhile, wealthier investors have benefited from stock market rallies and rising home values. Recent data from Cost of Living Survey found that income bracket was a large factor in Americans' varying views of the current state of the economy.