Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Statement

FOMC Statement is issued eight times a year. It contains the resume of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The statement summarizes the Fed's short-term interest rate decision and objectives for monetary policy to be taken to achieve the target level of inflation.

The statement reveals the main reasons for which the FOMC has taken the decision. The statement briefly characterizes the economic and financial situation in the country: main trends in consumer spending, labor market and unemployment growth rates, business investments, consumer and business sentiment. It also provides a brief description of the inflationary process.

After the general information, the Fed's brief outlook and the estimation of main economic rates are given in the statement. In accordance with all the above, the speaker announces the Fed's interest rate decision and the basic monetary policy objectives.

FOMC statement is closely monitored by analysts and market participants. Even if the current meeting has not lead to interest rate change, experts try to find hints for further development of the situation. If the statement suggests trends towards a near-term change in the financial policy, this may cause a short-term volatility of dollar quotes. Hints at at the possible interest rate hike and tightening of the monetary policy can have a positive effect on dollar quotes. On the contrary, expected easing of the monetary policy and lowering of interest rates may weaken the US dollar.