Leading up to a key, market-moving meeting like the Federal Open Market Committee Meeting (FOMC), all eyes are on the Fed. That’s why key Fed officials like Fed Chair Jerome Powell, as well as the seven members of the board, and bank presidents from key jurisdictions like Boston, New York, Richmond & more all must partake in what is referred to as a “Fed Blackout.” But what is a Fed Blackout – as in, what does a Fed Blackout mean? And when is the Fed Blackout? Scroll down to discover what happens during a Fed Blackout, and to see the entire 2023 Fed Blackout Schedule.
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What is a Fed Blackout?
A Fed Blackout is a period where Fed officials are barred from making public comments. No interviews, no press releases, no buying or selling of any assets, nothing that could indicate to the market how they are feeling going into an event that is sure to drive stock market price action.
In other words, Fed Blackouts occur before FOMC meetings to discourage market participants from reacting to commentary ahead of an event or attempting to “front-run” a particular outcome. This is part of the protocol that allows the Fed to meet their mandates.
About those Fed mandates: The Fed is not supposed to be an “arm” of the stock market. Though it feels like that sometimes, the Fed’s mandate is not to boost or bust the stock market. The Fed’s job is to manage monetary policy, and ensure stability in the price of assets as well as in the labor market.
As such, the Fed would prefer to promote stability when they make their announcements – though in the post-Covid world, Fed speak has promoted anything but stability.
So then when is the next Fed Blackout?
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When is the Next Fed Blackout?
The current Fed Blackout period is December 3rd, 2022 through December 15th, 2022. It’s centered around the December 14th, 2PM EST Fed Meeting. That’s the final blackout period in 2022, and December 14th is the final FOMC meeting in 2022.
But don’t worry – there’s plenty more where that came from.
2023 Fed Blackout Schedule
- January 21-Feb. 2 (FOMC Meeting Date: February 1st)
- March 11-23 (FOMC Meeting Date: March 22nd)
- April 22-May 4 (FOMC Meeting Date: May 3rd)
- June 3-15 (FOMC Meeting Date: June 14th)
- July 15-27 (FOMC Meeting Date: July 26th)
- September 9-21 (FOMC Meeting Date: September 20th)
- October 21-November 2 (FOMC Meeting Date: November 1st)
- December 2-14 (FOMC Meeting Date: December 13th)
