Summary

• The June FOMC meeting is a communication event rather than a rate decision event. Markets fully expect rates to remain unchanged at 3.50%-3.75%, with the real focus on the dot plot, inflation forecasts, policy language, and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s first press conference.
• Markets have rapidly repriced toward a higher-for-longer Fed. Fed funds futures now imply a 77% probability of a rate hike by December 2026, up sharply from 24% a month ago, despite the recent collapse in oil prices following the US-Iran interim peace agreement.
• A hawkish hold remains the base-case scenario. A higher dot plot, upward inflation revisions, and a less dovish policy bias would likely support the US dollar while weighing on Gold, the Nasdaq 100, EUR/USD, and AUD/USD.

By Kelvin Wong

The 17 June 2026 FOMC is not a normal “rate decision only” event. The market already expects the Fed to hold rates at 3.50%–3.75%, so the real trading signal will come from the dot plot, economic projections, policy-statement