#FOMCMeeting

What happens inside the Federal Reserve meetings where decisions about American interest rates are made?

Behind the closed doors of the Federal Open Market Committee meetings, policymakers discuss the path of benchmark interest rates.

Decision-makers carefully craft their statement and work diligently to shape the message.

The committee rarely contradicts what the president wants to do, although individual members sometimes express their disagreement.

The Federal Open Market Committee will meet this week for the first time this year. Market participants expect no change to the benchmark interest rate, but they will closely monitor what the Federal Reserve says about the possibility of future interest rate cuts.