Fed officials' forecasts project one more rate hike to come in 2026

Fed officials' forecasts project one more rate hike to come in 2026

Jake Conley · Breaking Business News Reporter

Wed, September 16, 2026 at 9:38 PM GMT+3 1 min read

Most Federal Open Market Committee members see the need for at least one more 25 basis point rate hike this year, as 12 out of 18 members that submitted projections pegged their view of appropriate monetary policy in 2026 at an average of 4.125%.

That rate implies one more 25 basis point hike to come by year-end.

Read more: The Fed's dot plot explained

Four committee members see 50 more basis points' worth of rate hikes in 2026 as appropriate, while only two members see no more hikes this year — suggesting that the new effective target rate of 3.75% to 4% is adequate.

The Summary of Economic Projections, also known as the "dot plot," does not label projections with the names of the Federal Reserve members who made them.

The projections are closely watched by investors, given that moves in the Federal Reserve's target rate historically come in groups. In other words, a hike today can be seen as implying that the Fed is entering a tightening cycle, not just a single correction.

Read more: How the Fed rate decision affects your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, and investments

Part of that idea is pegged to the view among many economists that a single 25 basis point hike is often not drastic enough to meaningfully bleed out into the broader market. Instead, investors pay more attention to the direction of travel for where the Fed sees target rates heading.

Jake Conley is a breaking news reporter covering US equities for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X at @byjakeconley or email him at jake.conley@yahooinc.com.

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