US Federal Reserve December Meet: See date, timing, and schedule details here

The United States Federal Reserve’s (US Fed) two-day monetary policy meeting is being held from December 12-13 (Eastern Standard Time – EST). And on Wednesday (EST) Fed Chair Jerome Powell will announce the central bank’s rate decision in a press conference.

Known as the Federal Open Market Committee’s meeting (FOMC Meeting), the rate announcement will be at 2 pm (EST) on December 13 (12.30 am IST on December 14).

Besides the interest rate decision, Powell is also expected to release the central bank’s economic projections for the US.

Date, timing, and schedule details

FOMC Schedule: December 12 to December 13, 2023

Date & Timing: 2 pm on December 13 (12.30 am IST on December 14)

Where to watch: You can watch the announcement live on the Fed’s website or YouTube channel

What are the expectations?

The Fed is likely to maintain its main rate steady for the third time in a row, AP reported, adding that the central bank has consistently increased rates in 2022 and 2023, reaching the highest levels in 20 years.

According to the CME FedWatch Tool, most Wall Street traders expect the Fed to leave rates unchanged at 5.25-5.50 percent, while anticipating a 77 percent chance of a rate cut during the May 2024 meeting, Reuters reported.

Analysts are feeling more positive about the chance of the central bank achieving a “soft landing”, the AP report added. This means inflation could ease while high-interest rates prevent the US economy from entering a recession.

“With inflation coming down faster than expected, it now appears likely that the Fed will refrain from additional rate hikes. At the same time, inflation is still too high and the labor market is still too tight for the Fed to consider cutting rates soon,” said Brian Rose, senior US economist at UBS, in a note to investors.

“A lackluster start to the week, but there’s so much to come over the next few days — which could determine how markets end the year and start 2024. The Fed decision on Wednesday is unlikely to be controversial, but the forecasts, dot plot, and press conference that accompany it may well be,” Craig Erlam at Oanda told Bloomberg.

“The recent strength in stocks is largely based on expectations of a soft landing and rates coming down in 2024. The Fed will likely cut rates next year, but that may be because the economy is slowing — in which case markets would look different than they do now,” said Greg Marcus at UBS Private Wealth Management.

“While inflation data has shown signs of easing, the resiliency of the labor market makes it difficult for the Fed to cut rates as the economy weakens. We believe that investors are too optimistic on this view,” Megan Horneman at Verdence Capital Advisors told Bloomberg.

Markets update

Wall Street finished high on December 11 ahead of the Fed’s final meeting this year. The S&P500 rose 0.4 percent – its highest in 20 months; while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4 percent; and the Nasdaq composite ended higher by 0.2 percent, the Associated Press reported.

Notably, on December 13, US inflation data (consumer and wholesale) is expected to be released on the same day, ahead of the Fed announcement.

The European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE) will hold their policy meetings on December 14.