The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee typically meets eight times per year. Its regular meetings are spaced about six weeks apart, allowing policymakers to review inflation, employment, economic growth, and financial conditions.
The FOMC is the Federal Reserve System’s monetary-policy body. It consists of the seven members of the Board of Governors and five Reserve Bank presidents serving on a rotating basis. The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is the permanent Reserve Bank voting member; all Reserve Bank presidents participate in discussions.
At its meetings, the committee decides whether to adjust the target range for the federal funds rate and considers other monetary-policy tools. Decisions are announced after regular meetings, followed by minutes released about three weeks later. Four meetings each year usually include updated economic projections and a press conference.
Eight is the normal schedule, not an absolute limit. The FOMC can hold unscheduled meetings when economic or financial conditions require urgent attention. Its meeting frequency has changed historically; the modern eight-meeting schedule developed in 1981.