Interest Rate Decision

The single largest driver of currency prices. Money moves toward currencies that pay more to hold.

HomeEconomic CalendarInterest Rate Decision
Next release in the calendar 17 Sept 2026 · 11:00 GMT Official Bank Rate · GBP
17 Sept 2026GBP

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.

Rates at a glance

Published byEach currency’s central bank
Usually releasedScheduled meetings through the year, dates vary by bank
Typical impact ratingHigh
CurrencyWhichever country publishes it
Moves gold?Commonly, since gold is priced in dollars

Why rates matter more than anything else

A currency paying a higher rate is more attractive to hold, all else equal. So the expected path of interest rates is the main input into a currency’s price, and almost every other release matters mainly through how it shifts that expectation.

Expectation, not the number

A cut that was fully expected can leave a currency unchanged, and a hold can send it sharply higher if the statement hints at a rise. What moves price is the difference between what was delivered and what was priced in beforehand.

Which bank for which currency

The Federal Reserve for the dollar, the European Central Bank for the euro, the Bank of England for sterling, the Bank of Japan for the yen, the Reserve Bank of Australia for the Australian dollar, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand for the New Zealand dollar, the Bank of Canada for the Canadian dollar and the Swiss National Bank for the franc.

Guidance and votes

Beyond the rate, the market reads the vote split and any guidance about future meetings. A unanimous hold and a narrowly split one carry different information about what comes next.

Recent releases

What was published, against what was expected. The market reacts to the gap between forecast and actual, not to whether the number was good.

DateCurrencyActualForecastPrevious
10 Sept 2026 EUR 2.65% 2.40%
2 Sept 2026 NZD 2.75% 2.50%
11 Aug 2026 AUD 4.35% 4.35%
1 Aug 2026 AUD
30 Jul 2026 GBP 3.75% 3.75%
30 Jul 2026 GBP 2-0-7 2-0-7
30 Jul 2026 GBP

Questions

Why does a rate cut sometimes strengthen a currency?

Because the market expected a larger cut, or the statement was less dovish than feared. The reaction is always to the surprise against expectations.

How often do central banks meet?

It varies. The Federal Reserve holds eight scheduled meetings a year, the European Central Bank eight, the Bank of England eight, and the Reserve Bank of Australia eleven. The calendar lists each one.

Which decisions should I watch?

The ones belonging to the currencies you trade. If you trade EUR/USD, that is the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.

Do rate decisions affect gold?

United States decisions commonly do, because gold is priced in dollars and does not pay interest, so the return available elsewhere is part of what it competes with.

Did this release cost you money?

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.

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