US Fed FOMC meeting minutes releasing today

Market participants will be closely watching the minutes of the January FOMC meeting for cues regarding the potential rate cut in the months ahead.

Written by Sunil Dhawan

February 18, 2026 14:17 IST

FOMC meeting minutes, US Fed FOMC meeting minutes, FOMC meeting, US Fed rate cut, Fed rate cut,

The next US Fed FOMC meeting will be held on March 17-18, where a Summary of Economic Projections, along with the ‘dot plot’ will also be released. (US Market Colin Ziemer New York Stock Exchange via Associated Press)

All eyes will be on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes to be released today. The minutes of the FOMC meeting held on January 27-28 will be released on February 18 at 2:00 p.m. ET. The last FOMC meeting was held on January 27-28, where the interest rates were kept unchanged at 3.5%–3.75%.

However, the decision was not unanimous. Voting for the monetary policy action were Jerome H. Powell, Chair; John C. Williams, Vice Chair; Michael S. Barr; Michelle W. Bowman; Lisa D. Cook; Beth M. Hammack; Philip N.Jefferson; Neel Kashkari; Lorie K. Logan; and Anna Paulson.

Voting against this action were Stephen I. Miran and Christopher J. Waller, who preferred to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point at this meeting.

The jury is out as to how much and when the FOMC will cut rates in 2026. For March, investors largely expect the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged. The probability of a rate cut at the April meeting is rising, but markets continue to assign the highest probability to a 25bps cut in June, followed by another in September.

According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, markets now price in a 52.7% probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut in June and a 42.7% probability in July.

“The U.S. Federal Reserve could approve several more interest rate cuts this year if inflation resumes a decline to the central bank’s 2% target,” said Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee on Tuesday. Fed Governor Michael Barr indicated that a future interest rate cut by the central bank may occur, depending on continued risks to the U.S. inflation outlook.

Gold and silver are holding ground, awaiting cues from the FOMC meeting minutes and other fresh triggers to move in either direction. On Wednesday, gold trades just under $5,000 per ounce, while silver is around $75 per ounce. As investors awaited the Fed’s most recent policy meeting minutes for more clarity on the direction of interest rates, US equities futures saw a small increase on Wednesday. The PCE Price Index, the Fed’s favorite indicator of inflation, will be released on Friday, which is another important event for markets.

The next US Fed FOMC meeting will be held on March 17-18, where a Summary of Economic Projections, along with the ‘dot plot’ will also be released.

Inflation seems to be trending lower; however, the job market is still throwing up mixed data. US 10-year Treasury yields dropped to 4.05% after softer-than-expected inflation raised bets on at least two Fed rate cuts this year. The annual headline inflation rate decreased to 2.4% in January, down from 2.6% in the previous two months and below the forecast of 2.5%. Monthly inflation eased to 0.2%, deviating from expectations of a steady 0.3%.

This article was first uploaded on February eighteen, twenty twenty-six, at seventeen minutes past two in the afternoon.