Skip to content
Latest
Markets at the closeAs of close, Nov 13, 2026Nasdaq −0.9% · S&P 500 −0.4% · Dow +0.1%Japan's GDP and China's October Data Open the Week Before Monday's Empire State Survey and Warsh RemarksBitcoin Falls to $62,112 in Sunday Trading, Its Lowest Since JulyBahrain Says It Intercepted Iranian Attacks; Brent Last Settled at $95.84 After IEA Surplus ReportHow a Spot Bitcoin ETF Works, and What 'Net Withdrawals' MeanHow to Read a Preliminary GDP Estimate, With Japan's Third Quarter as the Example15-Year vs. 30-Year Mortgage: What a 6.45 Percent and a 7.11 Percent Rate Cost on $300,000
Yield Update
Subscribe
EconomyExplainerPast Article

How to Read an FOMC Statement

The decision is in the first lines. The adjectives are a committee product. The vote is a count.

By Helen Voss, Rates Columnist

Washington1 min read

Storm clouds gather over a dense cityscape
Storm clouds gather over a dense cityscapePhoto by Nikolai Kolosov on Unsplash

Start with the operative sentence. The committee raised, lowered, or maintained a target range, and it names the range. That sentence is the news. Everything after it is how the committee wants the decision described.

Then read the vote. A unanimous count is a count. A dissent names a person and the action they preferred. Do not paraphrase a dissent into a mood. The statement already chose the verbs.

Then, if you must, the adjectives: solid, strong, elevated, resilient. They are negotiated language. Compare them with the previous statement if the comparison is the story. Do not treat a new adjective as a new data point. The data points are in the statistical releases, which have their own calendars and their own numbers.

Subscriber content

This story is in the archive

Create a free account to read one article a day, or subscribe for full access.

SubscribeCreate account

Already have an account? Log in

See an error? Request a correction.