The Complete FOMC Meeting Calendar: 2026, 2027, and What Each Date Means

A scheduled Fed decision can change the market conversation within minutes. Stocks, Treasury yields and the dollar respond to what policymakers announce—and to how that news compares with expectations. Borrowing and savings rates may adjust too, although lenders do not all change their offers immediately.

The FOMC meeting calendar helps you track these decisions. The Federal Open Market Committee has eight scheduled meetings each year. Four also include the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), which contains the closely watched interest-rate dot plot.

This guide covers:

• 2026 FOMC meeting dates and times
• Tentative 2027 FOMC dates
• Meetings with and without economic projections
• What happens during an FOMC meeting
• How to read the statement, dot plot and minutes
• The FOMC blackout period
• Market reactions around Fed decisions
• Unscheduled and emergency meetings
• How the FOMC compares with the ECB and Bank of England

Use the dates below to follow the announcements, then read the statement, projections and press conference together.

The Full 2026 FOMC Meeting Calendar

The Federal Reserve’s official calendar lists eight scheduled meetings, generally six to eight weeks apart. The committee can also meet between those dates when needed.

The Fed lists the following 2026 meetings. The second date is the scheduled decision day.

How the Calendar Is Structured

Scheduled meetings normally span two days. The policy statement is generally released at 2:00 p.m. Eastern on the second day, followed by the Chair’s press conference at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. Check the Fed’s announcement for exceptions. Eastern time follows U.S. daylight saving changes.

What Happens at Each FOMC Meeting

Reviewing the Economy

Participants review staff analysis and discuss inflation, employment, financial conditions and the policy outlook. Both voting members and nonvoting Reserve Bank presidents contribute. The discussion can include differing views even when the final policy vote is unanimous.

The Decision and Press Conference

The policy statement announces the target range for the federal funds rate and explains the committee’s assessment of the economy. It also lists who voted for the action and identifies dissenters and their preferred alternatives.

The Chair’s press conference provides further explanation and answers reporters’ questions. It is a separate communication event, so the initial market response to the statement may change as the discussion unfolds.

Listen for the conditions that might lead policymakers to change course. An answer about inflation risks or employment can matter even when the rate decision itself was widely expected.

A hold means the target range has stayed the same at that meeting. It does not mean the outlook or the committee’s views are unchanged.

What Makes SEP Meetings Different?

The Four SEP Meetings

The March, June, September and December meetings include projections for growth, unemployment, inflation and interest rates. These reflect individual participants’ assessments of appropriate policy, including those who do not vote that year.

The June 2026 SEP illustrates the distinction between today’s decision and the outlook. The committee held rates steady, while the median year-end rate projection rose to 3.8%, from 3.4% in March. That was a shift in participants’ projections, not a commitment ruling out later cuts.

The Four Non-SEP Meetings

January, April, July and October do not include a scheduled SEP. They still bring policy decisions, statements and press conferences. The committee can change rates or its message at any of them.

SEP meetings provide more published forecasts, but they are not automatically more important to markets. The size of a reaction depends on the surprise relative to expectations. A meeting without projections can still deliver significant news.

How to Read the Statement, the Dot Plot, and the Minutes

Start with the target range, then compare the economic assessment and policy language with the previous statement. Read the voting paragraph as well: support for a rate hold does not always imply agreement with every part of the message.

The Dot Plot

The dot plot shows individual participants’ assessments of appropriate interest rates at specified year-ends and in the longer run. It includes nonvoting participants, so it is not limited to the twelve voting seats. The dots are anonymous; they are not a committee vote.

The median is a useful summary, but the range of dots shows differing views. Neither a narrow cluster nor a wide spread removes the uncertainty around future policy.

The Minutes

Minutes are normally released three weeks after the policy decision. They summarize the discussion in more detail, including risks and alternative policy views. They are not a verbatim transcript and generally do not attribute every comment to an individual.

The July 2026 statement already identified Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari and Lorie Logan as dissenters who preferred a quarter-point increase. Readers did not need to wait for the minutes to learn that. The minutes add context beyond the published vote.

The Blackout Period and the 2026 Leadership Change

The Fed’s external communications policy limits participants’ public discussion of their views on macroeconomic developments and monetary policy around scheduled meetings. It does not suspend all Federal Reserve communications.

The blackout normally starts at midnight Eastern on the second Saturday before the meeting and ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern the day after it ends. If the second Friday is a federal holiday, it starts that Friday instead.

The purpose is to support effective deliberations and clear communication. During this period, a lack of speeches should not be read as a policy signal. The official decision and press conference still take place.

The 2026 Leadership Change

The FOMC has twelve voting seats: seven governors, the New York Fed president and four other Reserve Bank presidents serving rotating terms. All Reserve Bank presidents participate in discussions. The rotating seats change at the first scheduled meeting of the year.

Kevin Warsh is the Fed Chair and FOMC Chair. The Fed’s official biography records his appointment, while its committee roster identifies the current voters. Jerome Powell remains listed as a governor.

The April vote was divided, while June’s hold was unanimous. Those outcomes alone do not establish how much a change in leadership influenced policy. Economic conditions and participants’ individual judgments also matter.

The 2026 Decision Record Through July

The following recap covers the January–July decisions. Later releases are available through the official FOMC calendar.

• January 27 to 28: Held the federal funds target at 3.50% to 3.75%. Stephen Miran and Christopher Waller dissented, both favoring a quarter point cut.
• March 17 to 18: Held at 3.50% to 3.75%. Stephen Miran dissented in favor of a quarter point cut. The March SEP put the median year end federal funds rate at 3.4%.
• April 28 to 29: Held at 3.50% to 3.75%. Stephen Miran favored a quarter point cut, while Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari and Lorie Logan objected to the statement’s easing bias.
• June 16 to 17: Held unanimously at 3.50% to 3.75%. The June SEP raised the median year end rate projection to 3.8%.
• July 28 to 29: Held at 3.50% to 3.75%. Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari and Lorie Logan dissented, each favoring a quarter point increase.

The target range was unchanged across these five meetings, but the votes and projections shifted. That is why a headline saying “Fed holds rates” gives only part of the story.

Why FOMC Announcements Can Move Markets

Markets respond to surprises about both the current decision and the likely future path of policy. A widely expected rate move may have a smaller effect than an unexpected change in the statement or the Chair’s explanation.

The Pre-Announcement Drift

David Lucca and Emanuel Moench’s research on the pre-FOMC announcement drift documented unusually strong average equity returns before scheduled announcements in their historical sample.

That finding is a historical pattern, not a forecast for the next meeting or a dependable trading rule. Individual announcement days can produce losses, and results depend on the period and assets studied.

Reading the Initial Reaction

The first price move is not necessarily the final interpretation. Investors are processing the decision, any projections and then the press conference. For readers following the news, waiting for the full set of communications gives a more complete picture.

Emergency Meetings That Don't Appear on the Scheduled Calendar

The committee can hold unscheduled meetings between the published dates. These may address urgent developments, but an unscheduled meeting does not necessarily produce an interest-rate change.

The Clearest Example: March 2020

During the early pandemic response, the FOMC first cut its target range by half a percentage point, then lowered it to 0%–0.25% in a second emergency action. The latter announcement also called for at least $500 billion of additional Treasury holdings and $200 billion of additional agency mortgage-backed securities holdings.

How Often This Happens

There is no fixed timetable for emergency action. The scheduled calendar is a planning tool, not a guarantee that policy will remain unchanged between meetings.

How the FOMC Calendar Compares to the ECB and Bank of England

The European Central Bank publishes monetary policy decisions and holds a press conference explaining them. Its macroeconomic projections provide another view of the outlook. Check the ECB’s own schedule and local time zone when comparing its events with the Fed’s.

The Bank of England announces policy eight times a year and publishes its decision and meeting minutes together, normally at noon UK time. Its voting record is public. The Fed also publishes votes immediately; the difference is that the Fed’s fuller minutes arrive later.

Comparing these calendars helps readers follow policy developments across economies. Differences in inflation, growth and policy expectations can matter for currencies and international bond markets.

The Tentative 2027 FOMC Calendar

The Fed lists these 2027 dates as tentative. Each is subject to confirmation at the preceding meeting.

March, June, September and December are marked for projections in the 2027 schedule. Check the official calendar before making plans around a release.

How to Use the FOMC Calendar

• Add the decision day and press conference to your calendar. Use Eastern time with daylight saving adjustments.
• Follow the data between meetings. Inflation and employment reports help explain the questions policymakers face.
• Read the full announcement before drawing conclusions. Compare the statement, projections when available, and press conference.
• Use the calendar as context for borrowing or saving decisions. Actual offers, fees and your financial circumstances matter; a dot plot does not guarantee the rate you will receive.
• Keep the official calendar bookmarked. It provides releases and links to meeting materials as they become available.

What to Take Away

The calendar tells you when scheduled policy news arrives. The statement explains the decision, the SEP adds individual forecasts, the press conference provides context and the minutes give a fuller account of the discussion.

Watch all eight meetings. Forecasts can change, and the committee can act between scheduled dates.

FAQs

1. Where can I check the next FOMC meeting?

Use the Federal Reserve’s official meeting calendar for upcoming dates and released materials. The tables above show the published schedules for 2026 and 2027.

2. How many times a year does the FOMC meet? 

Eight times a year on a regular schedule, roughly every six to eight weeks, plus unscheduled meetings if urgent conditions require one.

3. What's the difference between an FOMC meeting with SEP and one without? 

SEP meetings add individual economic and interest-rate projections. Meetings without an SEP still include a policy decision and can change the policy outlook.

4. What is the FOMC blackout period? 

It is a restriction on participants’ public discussion of their economic and monetary policy views around scheduled meetings. The official policy sets its timing and holiday exception.

5. Can the FOMC meet outside its scheduled calendar? 

Yes. It can meet between scheduled dates and take policy action when needed.

6. Who is the current Fed Chair? 

Kevin Warsh is listed as Chair of both the Board of Governors and the FOMC. The Fed’s biography and committee roster provide the official record.

7. Are the 2027 FOMC meeting dates final? 

They are tentative until confirmed at the preceding meeting. Check the Fed’s calendar for updates.