Federal Reserve (Fed)
The central bank of the United States.
The Fed sets US interest rates and aims to keep prices stable and employment high. Its decisions move markets worldwide.
The Federal Reserve runs US monetary policy. Its rate-setting arm, the Federal Open Market Committee, meets eight times a year to decide where to put the federal funds rate. It has a dual mandate: keep prices stable and keep employment high, two goals that often pull in opposite directions.
Because the dollar is the world reserve currency and US Treasuries are the global benchmark for safe assets, what the Fed does spills across every market. A hawkish surprise can lift the dollar and pressure everything from emerging-market currencies to gold. Traders watch the meeting decision, the projections the Fed publishes quarterly, and the chair press conference, in that order of market impact.
Use it: Central bank interest rates