FOMC minutes (record of the Fed’s meetings)

The FOMC minutes are the official record of each monetary policy meeting of the FOMC. They usually appear three weeks after the day of the decision, at 2:00 p.m. Washington time, which is 8:00 p.m. in Paris most of the year: those from the September 15–16, 2026, meeting came out on October 7. On decision day, the 2:00 p.m. statement sums up the decision in a few paragraphs; the chair usually explains it at a press conference half an hour later. The minutes, by contrast, recount the debate: the Fed staff’s analysis, the views of participants, whether or not they vote, and the details of the vote, including dissents. The market weighs the quantifiers (“a few,” “several,” “most participants”) and watches for shifts in tone on inflation or employment. They can therefore spring a surprise after the fact if the committee comes across as more hawkish or dovish than its chair. Upcoming releases: the economic calendar.