US Federal Reserve FOMC Meeting: Date, time, what to expect and how to watch US Fed Chief Jerome Powell's speech live

Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of The US Federal Reserve will announce its policy decision today, March 19, 2025 at 2 PM ET (11:30 PM IST). All eyes will be on what US def Chair Jerome Powell says about insights on economy and inflation. (AFP Photo)

Amid the volatility sparked by US President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy, the US Federal Reserve is set to announce its decision on benchmark interest rates today, March 19, 2025. The policy committee (FOMC) of the central bank began the two-day session yesterday. The markets are hoping that the US Federal Reserve will hold the key interest rate. Many believe that there are slim chances of rate cut. A Reuters report said that many economists feel that US Fed Chair Jerome Powell is likely to keep the interest rate at the current level of 4.25%-4.50% range. Many US traders, in fact, say that the rate cut in May is a bigger possibility.

When to watch March FOMC Meet?

The two-day FOMC meeting started from March 18 and will end today i.e March 19, 2025. The critical announcement regarding the interest rate will be made on March 19 at 2 p.m. ET. (11:30 pm IST). Projections of the Federal Open Market Committee will also be released along with the interest rate decision. After the FOMC meeting ens, US Fed Chair will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET (1:00 am IST, Thursday).

Where to watch March FOMC Meet?

At Moneycontrol, we will bring you all the latest buzz on US Fed rate announcement. Additionally, FOMC's official channels will host the presser after the meeting concludes. The major social media channels to watch out for include YouTube channel and X (erstwhile Twitter). The handles are - https://www.youtube.com/federalreserve and https://x.com/federalreserve. The press conference will also be livestreamed on US Federal Reserve's official site - https://www.federalreserve.gov/live-broadcast.htm.

What to expect from FOMC's March meeting?

One of the major aspects of the FOMC meeting will be Powell's remark on key economic indicators such as inflation, employment among other things. As the disruption sparked by Trump's new tariff policy keeps the investors on edge, markets will try to see what US Fed Chair says on the impact of these duties both in short term as well as long term. With the S&P 500 registering a steep fall, there has been a marked slowdown in the economic activity. The Financial Times quoted E&Y chief economist Gergory Daco saying that it will be tough for Powell to reaffirm that the US economy is in good shape. Even as Powell remained upbeat as seen in his statement earlier this month, several major agencies have lowered the growth estimates. While Barclays has halved the US growth expectations to 0.7 percent, Goldman Sachs now puts the growth estimate to 1.7 percent form previous 2.4 percent.