The Federal Reserve committee that sets United States interest rates. Eight scheduled meetings a year, and the largest single influence on the dollar.
Dates come from the same table as the economic calendar, which is updated from the published schedule. Times shown are GMT; the calendar converts them.
| Published by | US Federal Reserve |
|---|---|
| Usually released | Eight times a year, decision at 14:00 New York time |
| Typical impact rating | High |
| Currency | USD |
| Moves gold? | Commonly, since gold is priced in dollars |
The Federal Open Market Committee decides the target range for the federal funds rate. The decision is published at 14:00 New York time along with a statement, and the chair holds a press conference half an hour later. Four times a year the release also includes projections from committee members.
By the time a meeting arrives, the market has generally priced the decision correctly. What moves price is the language of the statement and what the chair says afterwards — whether the committee sounds more or less willing to move rates at the next meeting.
At four of the eight meetings, members publish where they expect rates to be in coming years. The chart of those expectations is widely followed. A shift in it can move the dollar more than the rate decision it accompanies.
It starts thirty minutes after the decision and routinely produces a larger move than the decision did, in either direction. Traders who close positions after the statement and assume it is over are frequently surprised.
What was published, against what was expected. The market reacts to the gap between forecast and actual, not to whether the number was good.
| Date | Currency | Actual | Forecast | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Sept 2026 | USD | — | — | — |
| 3 Sept 2026 | USD | — | — | — |
| 3 Sept 2026 | USD | — | — | — |
| 3 Sept 2026 | USD | — | — | — |
| 1 Sept 2026 | USD | — | — | — |
| 28 Aug 2026 | USD | — | — | — |
| 26 Aug 2026 | USD | — | — | — |
| 25 Aug 2026 | USD | — | — | — |
14:00 New York time, with the press conference at 14:30. That is late evening in South Asia and evening in Europe.
Because the statement or the press conference changed what the market expects at future meetings. The decision itself is usually already priced; the guidance is not.
Eight scheduled meetings a year, roughly every six weeks. Unscheduled meetings happen in emergencies and are very rare.
Gold is priced in dollars and is sensitive to United States interest rate expectations, so it commonly reacts to these meetings.
The journal on this site records the date of every trade and compares your results on days with a high impact release against every other day. That turns a general worry about trading the news into a figure about your own record.