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By Rajesh Kumar Singh CHICAGO (Reuters) -Delta Air Lines delivered an upbeat outlook for the current quarter on Thursday, after posting stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings, buoyed by a recovery in corporate travel demand and improved pricing power. The Atlanta-based airline said its sales have accelerated over the past six weeks across all geographies, and also reported a rebound in corporate bookings with improvement across all sectors. Delta's shares rose more than 5% in early trading. Shares of United Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue and Alaska Air also gained between 2% and 5%. A sharp reduction in airline seat capacity in the domestic market has driven up ticket prices. This contributed to Delta's higher unit revenue, a key indicator for pricing power, in the September quarter, following a decline in the previous quarter. With bankrupt Spirit Airlines shrinking its operations and most carriers moderating their growth plans to prevent discounting pressure, Delta expects its unit revenue to remain positive in the December quarter. Third Bridge analyst Peter McNally said he expects Delta's revenue growth to extend into 2026 and sees the carrier and peer United benefiting from their premium offerings. The airline expects an adjusted profit in the range of $1.60 to $1.90 a share for the quarter through December. The midpoint of the forecast is $1.75, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.66, according to data compiled by LSEG. Delta's quarterly revenue is projected to rise about 2% to 4% from year-ago levels. It reported an adjusted profit of $1.71 a share in the September quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.53 per share. CEO Ed Bastian said Delta is also "well-positioned" to deliver revenue growth as well as margin expansion next year. The airline's bullish tone contrasts with a rocky first half of the year when economic jitters clouded the outlook for travel spending, prompting Delta and other U.S. carriers to pull their financial forecasts. Its outlook, however, does not factor in any fallout from the U.S. government shutdown. More than 13,000 flights have been delayed this week amid staffing shortages at air-traffic control facilities. With the federal employees working without pay, the staffing situation could worsen. Some travelers have started canceling trips and avoiding airports until U.S. lawmakers find a way to reopen the government. A prolonged shutdown also runs the risk of taking a toll on broader economic activity and hitting consumer spending. In 2019, during a 35-day government shutdown, Delta suffered a $25 million financial hit. Despite lingering economic uncertainty, analysts say the company's diversified revenue streams have made it better equipped than some of its rivals to shield its earnings. The company has been consistently generating more than half of its total revenue from credit card loyalty program, premium cabin sales, and cargo and maintenance business. It generated $2 billion in remuneration from American Express in the September quarter, supported by a double-digit increase in consumer spending on its co-branded credit card. Delta's premium revenue was up 9% from a year ago and accounted for about 43% of its passenger revenue. In contrast, its revenue from price-sensitive main cabin declined 4% year-on-year. Encouraged by the strong returns, the airline plans to significantly expand its premium seat offerings while scaling back main cabin capacity. (Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh and Nathan Gomes; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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(Changes headline to show OpenBrand rather than Openbrand) WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Prices for long-lasting U.S. consumer and personal goods increased in September, data from OpenBrand showed on Thursday, though the boost from import tariffs appeared to be fading. A partial U.S. government shutdown, now in its second week, has caused the suspension of official economic data collection and publication, including September's Consumer Price Index report that was due to be released next Wednesday.  That has left investors scanning private data for clues on the state of the labor market and inflation. Data analytics firm OpenBrand said its Consumer Price Index for durable and personal goods increased 0.58% month-on-month after rising 0.45% in August. The price measure leverages OpenBrand's library of durable and personal goods pricing, promotion and availability covering more than 400,000 products.  Last month's rise was driven by surges in the prices for communication, personal care and recreational products, attributed to the end of the "de minimis" exemption in August, which allowed items valued under $800 to be imported duty-free. "The elimination of this exemption would specifically impact products that are physically smaller and could be packaged in bundles, such as phones, computers, gaming consoles and personal care items," said Ralph McLaughlin, OpenBrand chief economist. "It turns out, these are the product groups we are seeing the most price acceleration in." But prices for appliances were unchanged after rising solidly in August. Home improvement goods price gains slowed. "Large-sized goods … such as appliances and outdoor power equipment are actually seeing price growth cooling, suggesting that the impacts of tariffs implemented earlier in the year have already been passed through and aren't leading to new inflation in these groups," said McLaughlin. That is a welcome development and would support some economists' views that the inflationary effects of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs would be short-lived. Consumer inflation accelerated in August as businesses passed on higher costs from the import duties.  (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)