I took a look at the 2026 FOMC calendar and honestly, it's big news for traders who follow the Fed. Eight meetings scheduled throughout the year, and what really matters is the timing of the decision releases. Each announcement comes at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, which means between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. for us in China time. Needless to say, the nights are going to be busy.

What’s interesting is that four of these FOMC meetings will include economic projections and the dot plot for interest rates. March, June, September, and December will therefore be the key moments to watch. The other meetings in January, April, July, and October will be more standard. Honestly, if you trade rate movements, you’d better mark these dates in red, especially the four meetings with full forecasts.

Each FOMC meeting can really move the markets. Note that all meetings last two days, so there’s a bit of suspense before the official announcement. Anyway, 2026 looks to be a busy year for those closely following monetary policy.