All You Need To Know About Fed Meeting

Category : Finance
fed meeting
By EVELYN CLEDE

Every year FOMC, short for Federal Open Market Committee organizes eight scheduled meetings regularly. The main purpose of the Fed meeting is to review and monitor the financial and economical conditions of the nation. Furthermore, the committee determines the right stance on monetary policy and evaluates the risks associated with long-run goals of price stability and sustainable economic development.

From investors to savers, and consumers, everyone is anxious and eagerly waiting for the next Fed meeting. “When is the next Fed meeting?” is one of the main questions investors are seeking answers for. This anxious behavior is fair enough. This is because after 40 years the most alarming inflation hit the U.S. economy seems to have hiked in 2022 and yet the Federal Reserve stays dedicated to its most fierce campaign of interest rate hikes since the administration of Carter and Reagan.

After all, there is no possibility that one can forget how high-interest rates helped clobber equity markets the last year. On the other side, in the 4th quarter, GDP, short for Gross Domestic Product increased beyond the predictions of economists, however, economic growth slowed consecutively from the 3rd quarter.

If reports are to be believed, the GDP perspective for the year 2023 is undoubtedly cynical, too. As per some economical predictors, there is a high chance of recession at 60% or greater.

Now comes the labor industry, which stays too robust and strong for the Fed’s comfort. It is important to mention here that as per the latest job reports, there has been huge hiring in the month of January that broke the predictions made by economists and market participants.

As per the economists, they were expecting 189,000 new jobs. However, more than 517,000 new jobs were created in the first month of 2023 and there has been a significant drop in the unemployment rate to 1969 levels.

Despite a sudden increase in the number of layoffs in the technology and IT industries, the new jobs created remain fairly good.

However, the truth is that there will be interest rate hikes, a slow economy, a high unemployment rate, and cool inflation.

Curious to know the date and timings of the next Fed meeting? Keep reading the blog to get the answer to your query.

When Is The Next Fed Meeting?

FOMC or Federal Open Market Committee is a central bank’s rate-setting committee responsible for the monetary policy. As already mentioned above, the committee holds 8 meetings at regular intervals each year. To know the dates of the meeting, click here. Each meeting is held for 2 days and concludes at 2 p.m. with the committee releasing its policy decision.

The next Fed meeting will be held on March 21 and will finish on March 22 at 2 p.m. Eastern with a policy statement. In the upcoming Fed meeting, it is expected that Fed Chief Jerome Powell and the rest of the committee members will increase the federal funds rate by 25 basis points, or 0.25%, to a target range of 4.75% to 5.0% – up from the current target of 4.50% to 4.75%.

That would be a replicate of the interest hike of 0.25% in February which defined a deceleration from the Fed’s December increase of 0.50%.

Before the December Fed meeting, the committee increased short-term interest rates at unbelievable speed, increasing by 75 basis points for 4 successive meetings.

Fed Meeting Calender For 2023

Listed below is the calendar of Fed meetings for the year 2023.

  • March 21 & 22
  • May 2 & 3
  • June 13 & 14
  • July 25 & 26
  • September 19 & 20
  • October 31 & November 1
  • December 12 & 13

Frequently Asked Questions

Listed beneath are some of the queries asked about the Fed meeting. Let’s throw some light on them.

Q1. When Is The Next Fed Meeting?

The next planned Fed meeting is on March 21 & 22. The meeting will begin on March 21 and will finish on March 22 at 2 p.m. Eastern with a policy decision.

Q2. How Many Times Does The FOMC Hold Meetings?

FOMC or Federal Open Market Committee meets 8 times at regular intervals every year.

Q3. What Is The Role & Responsibility Of The Federal Open Market Committee?

The Federal Open Market Committee consists of 12 members responsible for making and directing monetary decisions through open market operations. It reviews and defines the economical and financial conditions of the nation.

The committee also sets short-term goals for buying and selling securities to conduct monetary statements.

Q4. Is The FOMC And The Fed Same?

People often use the terms “FOMC” and “Fed” simultaneously. However, these are two different terms. FOMC is not the same as the Fed. The FOMC is a committee run within the Fed that is accountable for open market operations.

While The Board of Governors of the Fed defines the discount rate and the reserve needs.

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