Glossary › Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)
What is Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)?
The FOMC is the Federal Reserve committee that sets US monetary policy, including the target range for the federal funds rate.
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The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is the body within the US Federal Reserve System that sets monetary policy. Its decisions on the federal funds rate target range influence borrowing costs, the dollar, and asset prices around the world.
Who votes
The committee has twelve voting members: the seven members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and four of the other eleven regional Reserve Bank presidents, who serve one-year rotating terms.
Meetings and communications
- The FOMC holds eight regularly scheduled meetings a year, and can meet in between if needed.
- After each meeting it releases a policy statement, and the Chair holds a press conference.
- At four meetings a year, participants also publish the Summary of Economic Projections, including the “dot plot” of rate expectations.
- Minutes of each meeting are released about three weeks later.
Why it matters outside the US
US interest rates affect capital flows into other markets, including South Korea. Changes in the gap between US and Korean rates can move the won–dollar exchange rate, which matters for foreign investors’ returns on Korean assets.
The official meeting calendar is published on federalreserve.gov.
This glossary entry is general information, not investment advice.