US Fed Meeting 2026 LIVE: The US Federal Reserve announced its second monetary policy decision for 2026 after a two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, keeping its benchmark interest rate steady at 3.5% to 3.75% for the second consecutive time on Wednesday, March 18.
US Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to address the media after the meeting to announce the policy decision. The FOMC decision is in line with expectations of experts, who anticipated the US Fed would likely to keep the interest rate unchanged, as markets remain sensitive to oil prices amid the US-Iran war.
The FOMC assessed key economic indicators, including inflation trends and labour market conditions, before announcing its interest rate decision. Notably, this was the first meeting of the US central bank since the US-Iran war.
The US Fed’s benchmark interest rate currently stands in the range of 3.5% to 3.75%. At its January meeting, the Fed opted to hold rates unchanged. Before that, it announced three consecutive rate cuts of 0.25% each in an effort to prevent the cooling job market from deteriorating into higher unemployment.
When is the US Fed meeting announcement?
The policy statement was released at 2 pm ET on 18 March, it will beFed
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