When is the next Fed meeting?
The Fed meeting is published by the Federal Reserve at 2:00pm Eastern, with a press conference at 2:30pm. Here is the next date and the schedule behind it, with what the number measures and what it does not.
The schedule
| Day | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | Oct 28, 2026 | Two-day meeting, 2026-10-27 to 2026-10-28. The rate decision and statement land on the second afternoon. |
| Wednesday | Dec 9, 2026 | Two-day meeting, 2026-12-08 to 2026-12-09. The rate decision and statement land on the second afternoon. |
What it measures
The Federal Open Market Committee sets the target range for the federal funds rate, the rate banks charge each other overnight. Almost every other interest rate in the economy is priced off it, at a distance and with a lag. The decision arrives as a statement at 2pm Eastern; the Chair takes questions half an hour later, and the press conference frequently moves markets more than the decision did.
What it does not say
The Fed does not set your mortgage rate. A 30-year mortgage is priced off long-term Treasury yields, which reflect what the market expects rates to average over years, not what the Fed did this afternoon — which is why mortgage rates can rise on a day the Fed cuts. The decision itself is also usually the least surprising part of the release: by the time it lands it is largely priced in, and the new information is in the language, the dissents, and the projections.
Commonly confused: the decision and the projections
Eight meetings a year produce a rate decision. Only four also publish the Summary of Economic Projections, the dot plot showing where each participant expects rates to go. Coverage treats all eight alike, but a meeting with projections carries far more new information than one without, and the calendar above marks which is which.
Where to look first when it lands
- Dissenting votes, which are named in the statement and signal where the committee is splitting.
- Word changes from the previous statement — the Fed edits deliberately.
- Four of the eight meetings a year carry a Summary of Economic Projections, the chart of where each participant expects rates to go. Those meetings are bigger.
No forecast, on purpose
There is no consensus figure on this page. Consensus is a licensed product — a survey of economists, compiled and sold by a data vendor — and we do not license it. A date with no forecast beside it is a fact. A date with an invented forecast beside it is a fabrication with a decimal point on it.