The next Federal Reserve meeting is Oct. 27–28, 2026, with the interest rate decision due Wednesday, Oct. 28, according to the Fed’s published calendar. Policymakers will weigh whether to raise rates again after lifting the benchmark federal funds rate by a quarter point in September to a target range of 3.75% to 4%.
Fed officials are in their customary pre-meeting quiet period, during which they generally avoid public comment on monetary policy. The committee’s statement is typically released at 2 p.m. Eastern on the final day of the meeting.
At its Sept. 15–16 meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee voted 12–0 to raise the target range. Its statement said growth had been steady, the unemployment rate had changed little and inflation remained elevated, and that the increase should help return inflation to the Fed’s 2% goal sooner.
Minutes of that meeting, released Oct. 7, show most participants judged that another increase in the target range would likely be appropriate by year end. Officials also said future decisions would depend on incoming data and that they approach each meeting with an open mind.
Fed staff estimated in the minutes that personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation, the central bank’s preferred gauge, was 3.8% over the 12 months through August, with core inflation, which excludes food and energy, at 3.4%. The unemployment rate was 4.1% in July and August. Participants generally saw the risks to inflation as tilted higher, pointing to energy prices, demand tied to artificial intelligence investment and the possibility of further tariffs.
The October meeting will not include new economic projections. The Fed’s final meeting of 2026, Dec. 8–9, will include an updated Summary of Economic Projections. The committee’s tentative 2027 calendar begins with a Jan. 26–27 meeting.
The Fed does not set mortgage rates directly, but its policy influences borrowing costs across the economy. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 7.40% in the week ending Oct. 15, up from 6.27% a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac. The 15-year fixed rate averaged 6.71%.
Sources: the Federal Reserve’s FOMC meeting calendar, its Sept. 16 policy statement and the minutes of the September meeting; Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.