FOMC Minutes December 2026
2026-12-30 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
Next FOMC Minutes: Wednesday, December 30, 2026 at 2:00 pm ET (7:00 pm London).
Date to be confirmed by the publisher; this is the scheduled date.

Consensus
Not yet published
Prior
Not independently verified for this release
Actual
Pending

Full schedule and background: FOMC Minutes.
Updated September 2, 2026

← Previous FOMC Minutes
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) publishes the minutes of its December 2026 meeting on December 30, 2026 at 2:00 pm ET (7:00 pm London). The minutes are a detailed account of the discussion that took place at the meeting, released three weeks after the decision itself, and they give investors a fuller picture of the debate behind the Federal Reserve’s policy stance than the short statement issued on the day. Full schedule and background: FOMC Minutes.
What is the FOMC and what does it decide?
The FOMC is the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee. It sets the federal funds rate, the interest rate at which banks lend to each other overnight, which in turn influences borrowing costs across the US economy, from mortgages to credit cards to business loans. The Committee’s mandate, set by Congress, is to pursue maximum employment and stable prices, generally interpreted as inflation of around 2% over time.
The FOMC is made up of the seven members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and five of the twelve regional Federal Reserve Bank presidents, with the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York holding a permanent vote. The other reserve bank presidents vote on a rotating basis. The Committee meets eight times a year, roughly every six to seven weeks, to review economic data and decide whether to change, hold or continue adjusting interest rates.
Because the US dollar underpins global trade and borrowing, decisions made in this room in Washington ripple outward. Changes in the federal funds rate affect the cost of dollar funding for companies and governments worldwide, and they shape how central banks in London, Frankfurt and Tokyo think about their own policy paths.
When are the December 2026 FOMC minutes released?
The minutes are published on December 30, 2026 at 2:00 pm ET (7:00 pm London). The Federal Reserve has not yet formally confirmed this date at the time of writing, because minutes are typically released three weeks after the corresponding policy meeting, so the exact date can shift slightly depending on the Fed’s calendar. The underlying meeting itself would have taken place in mid-December 2026, with the rate decision and press conference announced on the final day, following the pattern the Fed uses at every meeting with updated economic projections.
Unlike the statement released immediately after a meeting, the minutes run to several thousand words and cover the Committee’s assessment of growth, the labour market, inflation, financial conditions and the risks around its outlook, along with the range of views expressed by participants on the appropriate path for interest rates.
What to expect
Because the federal funds rate for late 2026 depends on decisions the Committee has not yet made, and because no verified consensus forecast for the December 2026 minutes was found in official Federal Reserve sourcing, a consensus forecast has not yet been published for this specific release. Market participants typically use tools such as the CME FedWatch tool, which tracks futures pricing to estimate the probability of a rate change, and surveys such as the Reuters poll of economists, to gauge expectations ahead of both the meeting and the minutes.
The minutes themselves do not contain a new decision. Instead, traders and analysts read them for clues on how divided the Committee was, how policymakers characterised inflation and labour market risks, and whether any officials argued for a different pace of rate changes than the one chosen. This detail can move bond yields and the dollar even though no new rate decision is being made.
Market impact scenarios

Scenario
Likely market read
What it means in plain English

Minutes show broad consensus for the December decision
Muted reaction; markets treat the outcome as already priced in, according to typical trading desk commentary reported by Reuters after past minutes releases
Investors see little new information, so borrowing costs and stock prices are unlikely to move much on the day

Minutes reveal notable dissent or debate over further cuts
Bond yields and the dollar can become more volatile as traders reassess the pace of future rate changes
Mortgage rates and other borrowing costs could shift as investors adjust their expectations for the Fed’s next move

Minutes signal concern about persistent inflation
Markets may price in fewer or slower rate cuts, lifting the dollar and Treasury yields, per the pattern seen after past hawkish minutes
Higher expected borrowing costs for longer, which can weigh on stock valuations and mortgage affordability

What will the minutes signal?
Analysts will look closely at how the Committee described the balance of risks between inflation and employment, since this framing often previews the tone of future statements. Any language suggesting officials are divided over the appropriate pace of further changes, sometimes called “dissent risk”, tends to draw attention because it can hint at a bumpier path for rates in early 2027.
The minutes may also discuss the Fed’s balance sheet, the portfolio of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities it holds, and whether the Committee debated slowing or stopping the reduction of that portfolio, a process known as quantitative tightening. Commentators watching for forward guidance will pay attention to any hints about the conditions the Fed would need to see before adjusting policy again.
What It Means for Your Money
For homeowners and buyers, the federal funds rate influences the cost of new mortgages and the rates on adjustable loans, so any signal from the minutes about the future path of rates can move mortgage pricing even without a new decision. Savers with cash in high-yield savings accounts or money market funds tend to see returns move in the same direction as the policy rate, so a hint of further cuts ahead can mean lower interest on cash over time.
Credit card and personal loan rates, which are often tied to the prime rate, follow the federal funds rate with a lag, so changes flagged in the minutes can filter through to household borrowing costs within a few statement cycles. For investors, stock and bond markets react to any shift in expectations about future Fed policy, since lower rates generally support share prices and bond values, while a more hawkish tone can weigh on both.
Beyond the US, the dollar’s moves affect the pound and the euro. A dollar that strengthens on hawkish minutes can make imports cheaper for US consumers but can squeeze emerging market borrowers and raise the cost of dollar-denominated debt for companies and governments in the UK, the eurozone and Asia. UK and eurozone mortgage rates are not directly set by the Fed, but global bond yields often move together, so a shift in US rate expectations can nudge gilt and Bund yields, feeding through to mortgage pricing in Britain and the eurozone. Pension funds and other institutional investors holding US assets are also exposed to these swings through their bond and equity portfolios.
Related events

Previous minutes release: FOMC Minutes, November 2026
Full FOMC schedule and background: FOMC Minutes hub
Check the Federal Reserve’s own calendar for the confirmed meeting and minutes dates at the Federal Reserve’s FOMC calendar

Frequently Asked Questions
What time are the December 2026 FOMC minutes released?
The minutes are scheduled for 2:00 pm ET (7:00 pm London) on December 30, 2026, though the Federal Reserve has not formally confirmed this date, since minutes are usually published three weeks after the underlying meeting.
Will the FOMC minutes contain a new rate decision?
No. The minutes are a record of the discussion at the meeting already held earlier in December 2026; the rate decision itself was announced at that meeting, not in the minutes.
What is the current federal funds rate?
The prevailing federal funds rate depends on the outcome of the FOMC’s mid-December 2026 meeting, which had not been independently verified through official Federal Reserve sourcing at the time this page was prepared.
When is the next FOMC meeting?
The FOMC typically meets eight times a year, roughly every six to seven weeks; check the Federal Reserve’s own calendar, linked above, for the confirmed date of the next meeting after December 2026.
Where can I read the minutes when they are published?
The minutes are published directly on the Federal Reserve’s website and are typically covered in real time by major financial news outlets such as Reuters and Bloomberg.
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