FOMC Interest rate decision (Fed) | News & Analysis
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What's important about the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting?
With a pre-set regularity, a nation's central bank holds a monetary policy meeting where board members take different measures, the most relevant one setting the range of the federal funds rate, which greatly influences the interest rate charge on loans and advances to commercial banks.
In the US, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve (Fed) meets at intervals of five to eight weeks to announce their latest decisions. An interest-rate hike increases borrowing costs throughout the economy. This results in a stronger US Dollar (USD) as it makes the US a more attractive place for international investors. A rate cut, on the other hand, tends to weaken the USD.
If rates remain unchanged, the attention, main news and analysis turn to the tone of the monetary policy statement and the press conference from the Fed’s Chair. Markets analyze whether the tone is hawkish or dovish over future developments of inflation.
What is the Fed?
The Federal Reserve (Fed) is the central bank of the United States (US) and it has two main targets: to maintain the unemployment rate at its lowest possible levels and to keep inflation around 2%. The Federal Reserve System's structure is composed of the presidentially appointed Board of Governors and the partially appointed Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The FOMC organizes eight scheduled meetings in a year to review economic and financial conditions. It also determines the appropriate stance of monetary policy and assesses the risks to its long-run goals of price stability and sustainable economic growth. The FOMC Minutes, which are released by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve weeks after the latest meeting, are a guide to the future US interest-rate policy.
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How to trade the event?
- Do not rely on the Fed to determine the direction of the dollar in the coming months.
- The dollar tends to follow its predominant trend when the Fed starts to hike rates.
- There is no direct link between the Fed hiking rates and the usd falling. When a weak usd has coincided with a Fed hiking cycle, it has been falling for some time.
- Due to this, we may see a muted reaction to a potential Fed rate hike.
WHO IS FOMC'S CHAIRMAN?
Kevin Warsh
Kevin Warsh took office as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in May 2026, for a four-year term ending in 2030. His term as a member of the Board of Governors will expire in May 2040. Warsh, born in Albany (New York) on April 13, 1970, is an American financier and attorney who already served as a member of the Fed Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011 and was significantly involved in the central bank's response to the financial crisis. Before that, he served as a special assistant to the president for economic policy and the executive secretary of the National Economic Council under President George W. Bush.
The World Interest Rates Table
The World Interest Rates Table reflects the current interest rates of the main countries around the world, set by their respective Central Banks. Rates typically reflect the health of individual economies, as in a perfect scenario, Central Banks tend to rise rates when the economy is growing and therefore instigate inflation.