At a glance. The next FOMC meeting ends on Wednesday 9 December 2026, with the statement usually at 14:00 New York time (19:00 UTC, the same in London) and the Chair's press conference about 30 minutes later. The minutes follow on Wednesday 30 December 2026. Every meeting in your own time zone is in the economic calendar.
What the FOMC is
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is the part of the US central bank that decides monetary policy, above all the target range for the federal funds rate, the rate banks charge each other for overnight loans. The Fed's goals are maximum employment and stable prices, and the committee has stated a longer-run inflation goal of 2%. Twelve members vote: the seven governors of the Federal Reserve Board, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and four of the other eleven reserve bank presidents on a yearly rotation.
The next meetings, from the Fed's calendar
| Meeting | Decision day | Projections | Minutes released |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8–9 December 2026 | Wednesday | Yes | 30 December 2026 |
| 26–27 January 2027 | Wednesday | No | 17 February 2027 |
| 16–17 March 2027 | Wednesday | Yes | 7 April 2027 |
| 27–28 April 2027 | Wednesday | No | 19 May 2027 |
| 8–9 June 2027 | Wednesday | Yes | 30 June 2027 |
| 27–28 July 2027 | Wednesday | No | 18 August 2027 |
The dates are the Fed's own, as held in the economic calendar on 2026-11-05. A meeting can be added or moved, and the calendar refreshes daily.
How a meeting runs
- Eight scheduled meetings a year, each over two days. The decision is announced on the second day. The gaps between the meetings in the calendar range from 42 to 49 days.
- The statement is published at about 14:00 New York time and gives the decision and the committee's wording on the outlook. The calendar marks this as a usual time, because the Fed's calendar page does not list the hour.
- The press conference by the Chair follows the statement, usually about 30 minutes later, and can move the market again as the Chair answers questions.
- Projections. At four meetings a year (March, June, September and December) the Fed also publishes the Summary of Economic Projections, with each participant's forecast for growth, unemployment, inflation and the policy rate.
- Minutes of each meeting follow three weeks later, usually on a Wednesday at 14:00, and show how the discussion went.
When the decision lands in your time zone
The statement is at 14:00 New York time, and the press conference usually 30 minutes later. Local times on three typical dates:
| City | New York in winter (8 Jan) | Only the US on summer time (19 Mar) | Both on summer time (2 Jul) |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | 19:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 |
| Frankfurt | 20:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 |
| Dubai | 23:00 | 22:00 | 22:00 |
| Mumbai | 00:30 next day | 23:30 | 23:30 |
| Singapore | 03:00 next day | 02:00 next day | 02:00 next day |
| Tokyo | 04:00 next day | 03:00 next day | 03:00 next day |
| Sydney | 06:00 next day | 05:00 next day | 04:00 next day |
For the press conference add 30 minutes to every time in the table. In Singapore, Tokyo and Sydney the announcement falls in the early hours of the next calendar day, so many traders there set an alert and do not stay up for it. Use the calendar's time-zone selector instead of converting by hand.
How a decision moves markets
A rate decision moves markets when it differs from what was expected, and the wording and the Chair's remarks can matter as much as the rate itself. Rate expectations drive the US dollar, so dollar pairs such as USD/JPY, EUR/USD and gold are the usual instruments. The decision is read together with the data that precede it: the jobs report and the CPI report. Expectations come from market prices and forecasters; the calendar's forecast column covers data releases, and the official block lists only the official dates.
Sizing a trade around the decision
Two sharp moves, the statement and the press conference, make for an unusual half hour. Take USD/JPY at 150 with a $10,000 account risking 1% ($100). With the yen as the quote currency, one pip (0.01) is worth ¥1,000 per lot, which is $6.67 at 150:
| Plan | Stop (pips) | Lots | Loss if stopped at the level | Loss if the stop fills 20 pips beyond |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal day | 30 | 0.50 | $100 (1.0%) | $167 (1.7%) |
| Same lots into the release | 30 | 0.50 | $100 (1.0%) | $167 (1.7%) |
| Wider stop for the release | 70 | 0.21 | $98 (1.0%) | $126 (1.3%) |
| Half the risk, wider stop | 70 | 0.10 | $47 (0.5%) | $60 (0.6%) |
On a normal day a 30-pip stop and 0.50 lots risks $100. Keep the same size through the decision and let the stop fill 20 pips beyond its level, and the loss is $167 (1.7% of the account). A 70-pip stop at 1% risk cuts the size to 0.21 lots, and half the risk to 0.10. Because the two moves are 30 minutes apart, decide beforehand whether you hold through both or stand aside until the press conference ends. The position size calculator, the pip value calculator and the USD/JPY page do the arithmetic for your own account.
The decision comes at 14:00 New York time, in the middle of the New York session. The forex market hours tool shows how that sits in the trading day, and a journal keeps the record of how you handled it.
Get these dates in your calendar
Subscribe once and the dates arrive in Apple Calendar, Outlook, Google Calendar or any app that reads iCalendar, in your own time zone. The feeds are rebuilt from the official schedules every day, and your calendar app refreshes them on its own timetable, usually every few hours to a day. A download is a one-time copy. Events carry the date, the time and the official figures, never forecasts, and show as free time.
| Feed | Subscribe | Download | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fed, US jobs, CPI and PPI, ECB and UK data releases | Subscribe | Download .ics | Google Calendar |
| FOMC interest rate decisions and minutes | Subscribe | Download .ics | Google Calendar |
| US jobs report (NFP), CPI and PPI releases | Subscribe | Download .ics | Google Calendar |
| ECB monetary policy decisions and press conferences | Subscribe | Download .ics | Google Calendar |
| UK inflation, labour market and GDP releases | Subscribe | Download .ics | Google Calendar |
Where a publisher does not list the hour (FOMC and ECB announcements), the event says it is a usual time. The Google Calendar link opens Google, which then fetches the feed itself; this site sets no cookie and receives nothing from your calendar.
Dates: Federal Reserve Board, FOMC meeting calendar, as held in the calendar on 2026-11-05. Education only, not financial advice.
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Quick questions
What does FOMC stand for?
Federal Open Market Committee, the committee of the US Federal Reserve that sets monetary policy, including the target range for the federal funds rate.
How many FOMC meetings are there a year?
Eight scheduled meetings, each over two days, with the decision on the second. The Fed can also hold unscheduled meetings.
What time is the FOMC decision?
The statement is usually at 14:00 New York time, with the Chair's press conference about 30 minutes later. The calendar shows both in your time zone and marks the time as usual because the Fed does not publish it on its calendar page.
What are the FOMC minutes?
A record of the meeting published three weeks after the decision, usually on a Wednesday at 14:00 New York time. They show the committee's discussion and are read for hints about what comes next.
Which FOMC meetings include projections?
The meetings in March, June, September and December, when the Fed publishes the Summary of Economic Projections.
Know the level before the news.
A decision that moves price by dozens of pips makes the stop placement the key decision. These indicators help you mark it.
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Last updated November 2026. For education only. Not financial advice.