The FOMC raised by a quarter point to 3.75–4 percent on a 12–0 vote
Victoria Shinder1 min readThe Federal Open Market Committee raised the target range for the federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point, to 3¾ to 4 percent, in the statement released at 14:00 EDT on 16 September 2026. The vote was 12–0.
Three things in the text are worth separating from the headline.
The framework did not move. The Committee says it is "continuing its policy of maintaining ample reserves in the banking system" — the operating regime is unchanged, and this decision is about the price of reserves, not their quantity.
The description of the economy is confident. "Economic activity is expanding at a solid pace" is not hedged. The statement still records uncertainty as elevated.
Unanimity at a turning point is itself information. A 12–0 vote on a move means the disagreement, if there is any, is about what comes next rather than about this step.
The Committee released its Summary of Economic Projections the same afternoon, in a separate statement.
What it means
The number to watch next is not this one. A quarter point delivered unanimously is the decision the market had been told to expect. What is undecided is the path, and the path lives in the projections and in the minutes, published three weeks after the meeting.
"Ample reserves" is the sentence balance-sheet watchers read first. As long as it stands, the Committee is signalling that it does not intend to steer policy through reserve scarcity. A change in that clause would be a bigger event than a quarter point.
⚠ We publish no forecasts. This describes a decision that has been taken and the words the Committee used to explain it.