What Time Is the Fed Meeting on September 16, 2026? Exact Decision Time, Press Conference and Where to Watch

Quick answer: The Federal Reserve's interest rate decision on September 16, 2026 is released at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (ET), followed by the Fed Chair's press conference at 2:30 PM ET. One correction before we go further: the press conference will be given by current Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, not Jerome Powell — Powell's term as Chair ended on May 15, 2026. Here's everything you need to know about the meeting, the exact times in your time zone, and where to watch it live.

The Meeting at a Glance

Detail Info Meeting dates September 15–16, 2026 (two-day meeting) Decision announced Wednesday, September 16, 2026 Statement release time 2:00 PM ET Press conference 2:30 PM ET Who speaks Fed Chair Kevin Warsh Current rate 3.50%–3.75% target range Includes dot plot? Yes — this is one of four Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) meetings this year Official source federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm Exact Time in Different Time Zones

The Fed always releases its statement at 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Here's what that converts to around the world on September 16, 2026 (U.S. is on Eastern Daylight Time in September):

• 2:00 PM ET — New York, Washington D.C., Miami
• 1:00 PM CT — Chicago, Dallas, Houston
• 12:00 PM MT — Denver, Phoenix
• 11:00 AM PT — Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle
• 7:00 PM BST — London
• 8:00 PM CEST — Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, Madrid
• 9:00 PM EEST — Athens, Cairo
• 3:00 AM (Sept 17) JST — Tokyo
• 4:00 AM (Sept 17) AEST — Sydney

The press conference follows 30 minutes later, at 2:30 PM ET, in each of those same offsets.

What Happens at Each Stage

1. 2:00 PM ET — Policy statement released. The FOMC publishes its statement announcing whether the target federal funds rate is held, raised, or cut. Because this is a Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) meeting, the "dot plot" — each policymaker's anonymous rate forecast — is released at the same time. This is one of only four SEP meetings in 2026 (March, June, September, December), which is why September's meeting tends to move markets more than a typical hold/hike/cut meeting.
2. 2:30 PM ET — Press conference begins. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh takes questions from reporters for roughly 45 minutes to an hour, explaining the Committee's reasoning and answering questions about the economic outlook.
3. Three weeks later — Minutes released. The detailed record of the discussion, including how members voted and why, is typically published about three weeks after the meeting, also at 2:00 PM ET.

Why This Particular Meeting Matters

Unlike most 2026 meetings, this one is genuinely uncertain. At the July 2026 meeting, the Fed held its rate steady at 3.50%–3.75% for a fifth consecutive time, but three FOMC members dissented — arguing for a rate hike rather than a cut, a reversal of the dovish dissents that had been typical earlier in Warsh's tenure. Since then:

• Inflation has remained above the Fed's 2% target
• Chair Warsh's remarks at the Jackson Hole symposium in late August 2026 were read as more hawkish than expected, pushing up market odds of a hike
• Employment and retail-sales data through the summer came in softer, which cuts the other way and supports a hold

As of early September 2026, market-implied odds (via tools like the CME FedWatch Tool) have been roughly split between a hold and a 25-basis-point hike — a genuinely close call heading into the meeting. These are market prices, not the Fed's own guidance, and they can shift right up until 2:00 PM ET on decision day.

Where to Watch Live

• Official Fed livestream: federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases.htm — the Board streams the press conference directly and posts the video afterward
• Federal Reserve YouTube channel — mirrors the official livestream
• Major financial news networks (CNBC, Bloomberg TV, Yahoo Finance) simulcast the statement release and press conference live, usually with running commentary
• Statement and minutes as text: federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm

For the actual policy statement and implementation note (the primary-source documents, not a summary), go directly to the Fed's own page rather than a news aggregator — it posts the PDF and HTML versions the moment the embargo lifts at 2:00 PM ET.

Full 2026 FOMC Meeting Schedule

Meeting Dates SEP / Dot Plot? 1 January 27–28 No 2 March 17–18 Yes 3 April 28–29 No 4 June 16–17 Yes 5 July 28–29 No 6 September 15–16 Yes 7 October 27–28 No 8 December 8–9 Yes All statement releases fall at 2:00 PM ET, with the press conference at 2:30 PM ET.

Where to Get the Official Data Afterward

• H.15 Selected Interest Rates (updated daily with the new effective rate): federalreserve.gov/releases/h15
• Open market operations page (shows the current target range once set): federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/openmarket.htm
• FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) for charting the rate over time: fred.stlouisfed.org

This article reflects information available as of September 13, 2026. Fed leadership changed in May 2026 when Kevin Warsh succeeded Jerome Powell as Chair — Powell remains on the Board of Governors with a vote on the FOMC. Rate expectations shift with new economic data right up to the announcement; for the confirmed decision, check federalreserve.gov directly at or after 2:00 PM ET on September 16, 2026.