About the Event
The Federal Reserve conducts eight regularly scheduled FOMC meetings per year, a practice that has been in place since 1981 when the committee formalized its current meeting schedule. The September 18, 2025 meeting represents one of these crucial economic policy gatherings where the committee will assess economic conditions and determine appropriate monetary policy actions.
Market Impact
Federal Reserve meetings have significant impact on financial markets worldwide:
- Interest Rates: Any change (or hint of future changes) to the federal funds rate directly affects bond yields, mortgage rates, and loan costs.
- Stock Markets: Equity markets often experience volatility before, during, and after Fed announcements as investors react to policy decisions.
- Forex Markets: The U.S. dollar typically responds strongly to Fed policy decisions, affecting currency pairs across global markets.
- Commodities: Gold, oil, and other commodities frequently see price movements based on the Fed’s outlook for inflation and economic growth.
Participation
While the FOMC meetings themselves are closed to the public, traders and investors can follow the events in several ways:
- The policy statement is released at 2:00 PM Eastern Time on the final day of the meeting
- The Fed Chairman typically holds a press conference at 2:30 PM Eastern Time
- Live streams of the press conference are available on the Federal Reserve’s official website and major financial news networks
- Meeting minutes are published three weeks after each policy meeting, providing additional insights
Who Should Pay Attention
This event is particularly important for:
- Forex Traders: Currency values, especially USD pairs, react immediately to Fed announcements
- Bond Traders: Treasury yields respond directly to interest rate decisions and forward guidance
- Stock Investors: Equity markets can experience significant volatility during and after Fed decisions
- Options Traders: Volatility often increases around FOMC meetings, affecting options pricing
- Commodity Traders: Gold, oil, and other commodities typically react to changing interest rate environments
Trading Tip: Markets often show increased volatility in the hours surrounding Fed announcements. Some traders reduce position sizes or stay on the sidelines until the market digests the information, while others specifically trade the volatility with appropriate risk management strategies.