FOMC At 2 p.m. Eastern Time the Federal Reserve
Post# of 97987
At 2 p.m. Eastern Time the Federal Reserve will announce its latest monetary policy decision. If market and economist expectations are correct , the central bank will raise interest rates 25 basis points. Investors will watch the post-decision press conference and the latest forecasts from the bank closely to try to gauge the pace of future tightening. Bond and currency markets are relatively quiet ahead of the announcement.
FOMC Announcement
FOMC Meeting Announcement
Released On 3/15/2017 2:00:00 PM
Prior Consensus Consensus Range
Federal Funds Rate - Target Level 0.50 to 0.75 % 0.875 % 0.75 % to 1.00 %
Recent History Of This Indicator
Having met their employment goals and with inflation nearly at target, the FOMC is expected to raise rates at their March meeting by 25 basis points to a range of 0.75 to 1.00 percent. This would be the 3rd rate hike this cycle. The Beige Book, which was compiled for this meeting, continued to describe economic activity as no better than modest to moderate though strong post-election confidence was noted and, importantly, that available labor is growing scarcer. Prospects of rising government stimulus have yet to affect policy as FOMC members wait for related efforts to take form in Washington. This meeting will include updated quarterly forecasts and a Janet Yellen press conference.
Definition
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is the policy-making arm of the Federal Reserve. It determines short-term interest rates in the U.S. when it decides the overnight rate that banks pay each other for borrowing reserves when a bank has a shortfall in required reserves. This rate is the fed funds rate. The FOMC also determines whether the Fed should add or subtract liquidity in credit markets separately from that related to changes in the fed funds rate. The Fed announces its policy decision (typically whether to change the fed funds target rate) at the end of each FOMC meeting. This is the FOMC announcement. The announcement also includes brief comments on the FOMC's views on the economy and how many FOMC members voted for and how many voted against the policy decision. Since the last recession, the statement also includes information on Fed purchases of assets, so-called "quantitative easing", which affects longer-term interest rates. Also, a key part of the announcement is guidance on potential changes in policy rates or asset purchases. Why Investors Care
2017 Release Schedule
Released On: 2/1 3/15 5/3 6/14 7/26 9/20 11/1 12/13