The Federal Reserve (the Fed) announces its interest rate decisions eight times a year during Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings, approximately every six weeks. In 2025, these meetings and announcements are scheduled on the following dates: January 28-29, March 18-19, May 6-7, June 17-18, July 29-30, September 16-17, October 28-29, and December 9-10. Each meeting concludes with an announcement about interest rates followed by a press conference by the Fed Chair. The typical time for the announcement is 2:00 PM Eastern Time (ET), which corresponds to 6:00 PM Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). For example, the Fed's interest rate decision on September 17, 2025, was announced at 2:00 PM ET (6:00 PM UTC), followed by a press conference at 2:30 PM ET (6:30 PM UTC).
In summary, the Fed announces interest rates during its eight yearly scheduled FOMC meetings, usually at 2:00 PM ET on the second day of the meeting.
