Current Federal Funds target rate and upcoming FOMC meeting dates.
| Meeting | Decision | Target rate |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 27–28 | Maintained10–2 | 3.50–3.75 % |
| Mar 17–18* | Maintained11–1 | 3.50–3.75 % |
| Apr 28–29 | Maintained8–4 | 3.50–3.75 % |
| Jun 16–17* | Maintained12–0 | 3.50–3.75 % |
| Jul 28–29 | Next | — |
| Sep 15–16* | — | — |
| Oct 27–28 | — | — |
| Dec 8–9* | — | — |
* = dot plot (SEP) released at this meeting
Every FOMC decision ripples through global markets. A rate cut lowers borrowing costs and typically lifts equities, growth stocks, and commodities. A rate hike does the opposite: it strengthens the dollar and pressures risk assets. Even a "maintained" decision can trigger sharp moves if the statement signals a shift in tone. Meetings marked * also release the dot plot (part of the Summary of Economic Projections), which often drives larger moves.
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FREE TRIAL →The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is the monetary policy body of the US Federal Reserve. Its 19 officials, 12 of them voting, meet 8 times per year to set the federal funds rate. This benchmark rate influences borrowing costs across the entire US economy and, by extension, global financial markets.
The Fed does not buy stocks or intervene directly in asset prices. Its lever is open market operations: by buying and selling government bonds, it steers the overnight rate at which banks lend to each other.
Because this rate sets the floor for all credit in the economy, every asset class reacts: equities, bonds, currencies, commodities. A shift in Fed policy, or even a hint of one, can move markets more than any earnings report.
FOMC decisions are released at exactly 2:00 PM ET on the final day of each meeting. A press conference with Fed Chair Kevin Warsh follows at 2:30 PM ET. For European traders, this falls at 8:00 PM CET — after European market close, but US markets stay open for another two hours. Futures and indices typically show sharp moves in the minutes around the announcement.
A basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point: 1 bps = 0.01%. When the Fed “cuts by 25 bps,” the rate drops by 0.25%. The Fed normally moves in increments of 25 bps, though it can act by 50 bps or more in exceptional circumstances (as it did in March 2020 and September 2024).
Four times per year (March, June, September, December), the Fed releases the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), whose most-watched component is the dot plot. Each of the 19 Fed officials anonymously marks the rate level they consider appropriate for year-end and the following years.
The dot plot often drives larger moves than the rate decision itself, because it reveals the Fed’s expected rate path. Meetings marked * on this calendar include a dot plot release.
The federal funds rate sets the floor for borrowing costs economy-wide. Lower rates reduce the discount rate applied to future earnings, which inflates equity valuations, particularly for growth stocks with profits far in the future. Higher rates compress those valuations.
Currency traders also watch closely: rising US rates typically strengthen the dollar. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, EUR/USD, and gold are the instruments that react most visibly to FOMC decisions.
The 12 voting members are: the 7 Federal Reserve Board governors (including Chair Kevin Warsh), the President of the New York Fed, and 4 of the 11 remaining Reserve Bank presidents on a rotating annual basis. All 19 officials attend meetings and participate in discussions, only 12 vote. The vote tally shown in the table above comes directly from the official statement released after each meeting.
