FOMC

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is the monetary policy-making body of the Federal Reserve System. It consists of 12 members: the 7 members of the Board of Governors and 5 of the 12 regional Federal Reserve Bank presidents (rotating annually, except for the New York Fed president who is a permanent member).

The FOMC meets eight times per year (roughly every six weeks) to review economic conditions and set the target range for the federal funds rate. After each meeting, the Committee releases:

  • Policy statement: the rate decision and brief economic assessment
  • Dot plot (quarterly): individual members' projections for the future path of the funds rate
  • Summary of Economic Projections (quarterly): forecasts for GDP, unemployment, and inflation
  • Meeting minutes (3 weeks after): detailed discussion summary

The FOMC's decisions are the single most important driver of the short end of the yield curve. The Fed page on this site charts every FOMC rate decision with the yield curve context at each meeting, showing how the curve shape evolves through tightening and easing cycles.

Between meetings, the fed funds futures market continuously prices the probability of upcoming rate changes, effectively creating a real-time poll of market expectations about FOMC actions.

View chart →

Related Terms

  • Fed Funds Rate — The overnight lending rate set by the Federal Reserve, the primary tool of U.S. monetary policy.
  • Quantitative Easing — Large-scale central bank asset purchases designed to lower long-term yields when the policy rate is at or near zero.
  • Yield Curve — A line plotting Treasury yields across maturities from short-term bills to long-term bonds.