If you trade around macro news, the FOMC meeting schedule is the one calendar worth pinning to your wall. Nearly every rate decision the Federal Reserve makes starts on one of eight pre-set dates aIf you trade around macro news, the FOMC meeting schedule is the one calendar worth pinning to your wall. Nearly every rate decision the Federal Reserve makes starts on one of eight pre-set dates a

Learn/Trading Guide/US Stocks/FOMC Meeting Schedule 2026: Every Fed Decision Date, Dot Plot Release, and What to Expect

FOMC Meeting Schedule 2026: Every Fed Decision Date, Dot Plot Release, and What to Expect

Author: Marcus O'Brien

Beginner

Sep 21, 2026Marcus O'Brien

8 min

LA$0.06833+5.02%

EL$0.001774-2.20%

DOT$1.26+0.66%

KATA$0.00003575+5.48%

If you trade around macro news, the FOMC meeting schedule is the one calendar worth pinning to your wall.

Nearly every rate decision the Federal Reserve makes starts on one of eight pre-set dates a year, and knowing them ahead of time is one of the more useful habits a beginner trader can build.

This guide breaks down the full fed meeting schedule for 2026, what time each decision actually lands, what the dot plot and press conference really mean, and what the numbers are pointing to right now.

Key Takeaways

The FOMC holds eight meetings a year, and the June 16-17, 2026 meeting marked the first one led by new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh.
Every decision is announced at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, followed by a press conference at 2:30 p.m.
Four of the eight 2026 meetings, in March, June, September, and December, include the Fed's quarterly dot plot.
Going into the June meeting, the federal funds rate had held at 3.50% to 3.75% since March, with futures markets pricing in roughly a 97% chance of another hold as of June 13, 2026.
The Fed's own March 2026 projections pointed to a median year-end rate of 3.4%, suggesting at most one more quarter-point move for 2026.
The full 2026 and 2027 meeting schedule is already public, letting traders plan around volatility windows months in advance.

When Is the Next FOMC Meeting? Date, Time, and What Happens Next

The Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC, is the group inside the Federal Reserve that votes on interest rates, and it holds eight regularly scheduled meetings a year, spaced roughly six to eight weeks apart.

That cadence is the backbone of the entire fed meeting schedule, and it rarely changes from one year to the next.

That timing is consistent every time the Committee meets, since the federal funds rate directive is released for the public at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the second day of the meeting, which directly answers the most-searched version of this question, what time is the FOMC meeting.

One detail worth remembering before building a strategy around any single date is that each meeting date on the calendar is tentative until confirmed at the meeting immediately preceding it, even the ones already published more than a year out.

FOMC Meeting Schedule 2026: Every Date and Decision Time

Here is the complete FOMC meeting schedule for 2026, taken directly from the Federal Reserve's own calendar, with the four meetings that include the quarterly dot plot marked separately from the four that do not.

The 2026 meeting dates are January 27-28, March 17-18, April 28-29, June 16-17, July 28-29, September 15-16, October 27-28, and December 8-9, with March, June, September, and December each associated with a Summary of Economic Projections.

2026 Meeting Dates	Decision Announced	Includes Dot Plot (SEP)
January 27-28	January 28	No
March 17-18	March 18	Yes
April 28-29	April 29	No
June 16-17	June 17	Yes
July 28-29	July 29	No
September 15-16	September 16	Yes
October 27-28	October 28	No
December 8-9	December 9	Yes

The other four meetings, in January, April, July, and October, still produce a full policy statement and a press conference, they simply skip the quarterly projections.

Looking Ahead to 2027

If you are already planning that far out, the Federal Reserve has pre-announced its 2027 schedule as well, with meetings on January 26-27, March 16-17, April 27-28, June 8-9, July 27-28, September 14-15, October 26-27, and December 7-8, and the rhythm barely changes from this year's.

Having next year's dates locked in already is one of the more underused parts of the fed meeting schedule, since it lets active traders block out entire quarters in advance rather than scrambling every six weeks.

What Is the Dot Plot, and Why Does It Move Markets More Than the Rate Decision?

Four times a year, the Federal Reserve releases a summary of FOMC participants' projections for GDP growth, the unemployment rate, inflation, and the appropriate policy interest rate, and the chart inside that document that traders actually obsess over is the dot plot.

Each dot represents one policymaker's anonymous forecast for where the federal funds rate should sit at the end of the current year, the next two years, and over the longer run, and the most recent release, attached to the March 2026 meeting, collected projections from 19 separate participants.

The figure that matters most is the median dot, since that single number gets treated as the Committee's de facto consensus even though the Fed itself never frames it that officially.

That March 2026 release put the median projection for the federal funds rate at the end of 2026 at 3.4%, with the longer-run estimate, where rates are expected to settle once the economy stops needing further adjustment, rising to 3.1%.

Elevated inflation likely plays a role in that modest projection, since actual PCE inflation ran at 2.8% in 2025, still well above the Committee's 2% longer-run objective.

Because the June 16-17, 2026 meeting also fell on the SEP calendar, the Fed published a fresh dot plot that week, which means the 3.4% figure above should be checked against that newer release rather than treated as a permanent forecast.

FOMC Meeting Press Conference Time: Why the Extra 30 Minutes Matter Most

The 2:00 p.m. statement is only half the story, because thirty minutes later, the Chair's news conference starts at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time, and that question-and-answer session is usually where the real volatility shows up.

The written statement gets carefully worded and reviewed for days in advance, so it rarely says anything that genuinely surprises anyone who has been following the run-up commentary.

The press conference, on the other hand, is live and unscripted, so a single offhand answer about the labor market or next year's inflation outlook can move Treasury yields, equities, and crypto within minutes.

The June 17, 2026 press conference carried extra weight for a different reason entirely, since it was the first one led by Kevin Warsh, who the FOMC unanimously selected as its chairman after the Senate confirmed him to the Board on May 12 and as chairman on May 13, 2026, succeeding Jerome Powell.

Markets that are still getting a feel for a new Chair's communication style tend to react more sharply to every word choice, which is exactly why the fomc meeting press conference time is worth marking on the calendar for every meeting Warsh leads, not just his first one.

FOMC Meeting Schedule 2026: What the Numbers Say About This Week's Rate Decision

Heading into the June 16-17, 2026 meeting, the federal funds rate had been sitting at a target range of 3.50% to 3.75% since the Fed's March 2026 meeting, holding there again in April.

Futures markets, tracked through CME Group's FedWatch tool, leaned more and more heavily toward another hold as the meeting approached, with the implied probability of no change sitting at roughly 97% as of June 13, 2026.

That kind of lopsided positioning usually means the rate decision itself will not be the headline, and the bigger story will be the updated dot plot and whatever Chair Warsh says about the path ahead during the 2:30 p.m. press conference.

As covered above, the Fed's own March 2026 projections put the median year-end rate at 3.4%, which left the door open to roughly one more quarter-point cut sometime in 2026 rather than a longer cutting cycle.

That view was tested the moment the updated Summary of Economic Projections landed alongside the June 17 decision, so the numbers above should be read as a snapshot of where things stood heading into that meeting, not a permanent forecast.

How to Trade the Fed Meeting Schedule Without Getting Blindsided

Once you have the fed meeting schedule mapped out, the practical question becomes what to actually do with it, and the honest answer is that most of the value comes from simply not being caught off guard.

Volatility around these meetings tends to cluster tightly into the hour between the 2:00 p.m. statement and the end of the 2:30 p.m. press conference, which is worth knowing if you are holding a leveraged position during that window.

The four SEP meetings, March, June, September, and December, tend to draw sharper reactions than the other four, since a fresh dot plot gives the market something new to reposition around even when the rate itself does not move.

That also means a dot that shifts even slightly from the prior reading, up or down, can move markets on its own, completely independent of whatever the Committee decides on the headline rate.

Because crypto trades around the clock, reactions to a Fed surprise often show up within minutes rather than waiting for the next stock market open, which is exactly why having these dates on your calendar in advance is especially useful for an asset class that never really closes.

If you want to watch how Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major tokens react in real time as the statement and press conference unfold, MEXC's market pages update live throughout the announcement window, which makes it easier to see the reaction as it happens rather than catching up after the fact.

Frequently Asked Questions

What time is the FOMC meeting?

The Fed's policy statement comes out at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the second day of the meeting, and the Chair's press conference follows at 2:30 p.m.

When is the next FOMC meeting?

You can find the exact date for every remaining 2026 meeting in the schedule table above, since the Fed publishes its full calendar more than a year in advance.

What time is the FOMC press conference?

The press conference starts thirty minutes after the policy statement, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

How many times does the FOMC meet each year?

The Committee holds eight regularly scheduled meetings a year, spaced roughly six to eight weeks apart.

Are FOMC meeting dates ever changed?

Every date is technically tentative until the FOMC confirms it at the meeting immediately before it, though changes to already-confirmed dates are rare.

Conclusion

The FOMC meeting schedule is not exciting reading on its own, but once you know when the next decision lands, what time the press conference starts, and what the Fed's own projections are already signaling, you stop reacting to headlines and start anticipating them.

This week's meeting adds a rare wrinkle, since it is the first one led by a new Fed Chair, so it is worth watching even if the rate itself does not move at all.

For traders who want to track how Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major tokens respond the moment the statement and press conference hit the wires, MEXC's real-time market data makes it easy to follow the move as it happens.

Market Opportunity

Price()

----

USD

() Live Price Chart

This article is provided by Marcus O'Brien for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency markets involve significant risk. Please conduct independent research or consult a qualified professional before making any investment decisions. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of MEXC or its affiliates.

Hot Crypto Updates

Red Sea Tensions Return as Houthi Threats Put Oil Shipping Costs at Risk

Overview Red Sea tensions have returned to the centre of global market attention because the risk is no longer confined to isolated attacks on individual vessels. Investors are now considering the

Author: James Mitchell

2026-07-22

Pre-Market Briefing on Sept 18: Intel +7.67% With 7.08 Points of Excess, and a 4.1% Dot Plot Pricing AI Compute

The previous session was Thursday, September 17. All three indexes rebounded: the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.69% to 26,418.30, the S&P 500 rose 1.13% to 7,637.05 and the Dow Jones Industrial rose 0.61%

Author: MEXC

2026-09-18

Fed Raises Rates 25bps for First Time in Three Years, Dot Plot Signals Extended Tightening Cycle【MEXC Alpha Trader – Daily Market Brief (September 18, 2026)】

I. Macro & Market Sentiment Market Data: BTC $76,685 (+0.47%) | ETH $2,456 (+1.26%) | SOL $102 (+3.25%) Market Sentiment: Funding Rate +0.0066% | Fear & Greed Index 56 (Greed) Monetary Policy: The

Author: MEXC

2026-09-18

Fed Dot Plot (Sept 2026): Why Another Rate Hike Is Suddenly Back on the Table

Overview Global financial markets are confronting a decisive macro regime reassessment as structural economic resilience collides with monetary policy expectations. Scheduled for release alongside

Author: James Mitchell

2026-09-17