Where to check for today's Fed decision

The Federal Reserve announces interest rate decisions on specific dates set months in advance. If today is not one of those announcement days, the Fed did not change rates. You can find the Fed's meeting calendar on the Federal Reserve's official website at federalreserve.gov — look for "Meeting Calendar" under the monetary policy section.

On announcement days, the Fed releases its decision at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The announcement appears first on federalreserve.gov, then spreads to financial news outlets like Bloomberg, Reuters, CNBC, and MarketWatch within minutes. If you are checking within an hour of 2:00 p.m. ET on a scheduled announcement day, those sources will have the news.

The Fed typically meets eight times per year. The 2024 and 2025 meeting dates are published well in advance, so you can know whether today is a decision day without checking anywhere — the Fed's calendar shows the exact dates.

Key Takeaways

  • The Federal Reserve announces rate changes only on scheduled meeting dates, which are published on federalreserve.gov months ahead of time.
  • Announcements happen at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on decision days, and appear first on the Federal Reserve's official website.
  • If today is not a scheduled Fed meeting date, no rate change occurred today.
  • Financial news sites like Bloomberg, Reuters, and CNBC report Fed decisions within minutes of the official announcement.
  • The Fed meets roughly eight times per year, so most days are not announcement days.

What the Fed announcement actually says

When the Fed does announce a change, the statement names the new target range for the federal funds rate — for example, "2.25% to 2.50%". This is the rate banks charge each other for overnight loans, not the rate you see on your savings account or mortgage.

The statement also explains the Fed's reasoning: whether inflation is rising or falling, whether employment is strong or weakening, and what economic conditions prompted the decision. Reading the statement itself (rather than a news summary) tells you exactly what the Fed is thinking, because the language is precise and consistent from meeting to meeting.

How Fed rate changes affect your savings and borrowing

When the Fed raises its target rate, banks typically raise the rates they offer on savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit (CDs) within days or weeks. The connection is direct: a higher federal funds rate makes it more expensive for banks to borrow, so they pay more to attract deposits from you.

The same increase makes credit cards, home equity lines of credit, and adjustable-rate mortgages more expensive. Fixed-rate mortgages and fixed-rate personal loans are less affected by same-day Fed moves, because lenders set those rates based on bond markets, which often move in anticipation of Fed decisions.

When the Fed cuts rates, the reverse happens: savings rates fall within weeks, and borrowing rates on variable products fall as well. The timing varies by bank and product, so a Fed cut today does not mean your savings rate drops today — but it usually does within a month.

Why the Fed meets on a schedule instead of whenever it wants

Scheduled meetings give markets and businesses time to plan. If the Fed could change rates any day without warning, financial markets would be chaotic and unpredictable. By announcing meeting dates a year in advance, the Fed lets investors, banks, and borrowers know when to expect news.

Between meetings, the Fed does not change the federal funds rate target, even if economic conditions shift. The only exception is a true emergency — the Fed cut rates to near zero in March 2020 during the pandemic, outside of a scheduled meeting. These emergency moves are extremely rare.

How to track Fed decisions over time

The Federal Reserve publishes a historical record of every rate decision and statement on federalreserve.gov under "Historical Data." You can see what the federal funds rate was on any date going back decades, and read the statement from each meeting.

If you want to know how Fed rate changes have affected your own accounts, compare your savings account rate or CD rate to the federal funds rate on the date you opened the account. You will usually see your rate move in the same direction as the Fed rate, though the size of the move varies by bank.

What happens between Fed meetings

Between scheduled meetings, the Fed maintains its current target rate. Banks may adjust the rates they offer you based on other factors — competition with other banks, changes in their own funding costs, or shifts in bond market rates — but these are not Fed decisions.

News about inflation, employment, or economic growth often comes out between meetings and moves financial markets. This news may influence what the Fed does at its next meeting, but it does not change the current federal funds rate target.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if today is a Fed meeting day?

Check the Federal Reserve's meeting calendar at federalreserve.gov. The calendar shows all scheduled meeting dates for the current and next year. If today is not on that calendar, the Fed did not meet today.

What time does the Fed announce its decision?

The Federal Reserve announces rate decisions at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on scheduled meeting days. The announcement appears on federalreserve.gov first, then spreads to financial news outlets within minutes.

If the Fed raises rates today, when will my savings account rate go up?

Most banks raise savings rates within one to four weeks of a Fed increase. Some banks move faster, others slower. Check with your bank directly if you want to know their timeline, or compare your current rate to the federal funds rate to see if they have already adjusted.

Can the Fed change rates on days other than scheduled meetings?

Extremely rarely. The Fed has emergency authority to change rates outside of meetings, but this has happened only a handful of times in recent history — most notably in March 2020 during the pandemic. Scheduled meetings are the normal path.

Where can I read the Fed's actual statement instead of a news summary?

Go to federalreserve.gov and search for "monetary policy" or "press releases." On announcement days, the Fed's official statement is posted there before any news outlet publishes it. The statement is written in formal language but is the most accurate source.