Finance
FOMC Meeting Calendar 2026 — Fed Rate Decision Dates
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) holds 8 scheduled meetings per year. Rate decisions are announced at 2:00 PM Eastern on the second day of each meeting.
2026 FOMC meeting schedule
| Meeting | Date(s) | SEP / dot plot? |
|---|---|---|
| January | Jan 27–28, 2026 | No |
| March | Mar 17–18, 2026 | Yes |
| April / May | Apr 28–29, 2026 | No |
| June | Jun 16–17, 2026 | Yes |
| July | Jul 28–29, 2026 | No |
| September | Sep 15–16, 2026 | Yes |
| October / November | Oct 27–28, 2026 | No |
| December | Dec 15–16, 2026 | Yes |
Dates are set in advance by the Federal Reserve Board. SEP = Summary of Economic Projections (the famous "dot plot" of individual member rate forecasts) is released at four of the eight meetings per year.
What gets announced and when
- 2:00 PM ET (Day 2): Policy statement and rate decision.
- 2:00 PM ET (Day 2): SEP / dot plot (at the four marked meetings only).
- 2:30 PM ET (Day 2): Chair's press conference begins — runs ~45 minutes.
- 2:00 PM ET (3 weeks later): Full minutes of the meeting are released.
Why these dates matter for markets
FOMC days regularly produce the largest intraday moves of the year in Treasuries and rate-sensitive equities. Even "no-change" decisions move markets if the statement language shifts. Set the rate decision time (2:00 PM ET) in your calendar — not just the meeting date — to avoid being caught off-guard.
How to subscribe
The Federal Reserve doesn't publish an official iCal feed. The Investing.com economic calendar tags FOMC dates; many financial-data services (TradingView, Koyfin) include them in their built-in calendars.