The Federal Reserve’s FOMC Meeting Minutes are due at 18:00 UTC on 19 August 2026, and they headline the US session as traders parse the detail behind the last policy decision.
What the FOMC Meeting Minutes measure
The minutes are a detailed account of the Federal Open Market Committee’s most recent policy meeting, published three weeks after the decision. They reveal how officials debated inflation, employment and the path for interest rates, offering nuance that the initial statement leaves out.
Markets watch the release for shifts in tone among policymakers, dissents, and any language on the balance of risks. Because it is a written record rather than a data point, there is no forecast or previous figure attached; attention centres on the wording itself.
As a US event, the minutes are most closely tied to the dollar and to dollar-priced assets, including precious metals and rate-sensitive instruments.
How the USD-linked instruments are trading
Across our feed, dollar-denominated metals are the biggest movers ahead of the release. Silver (XAGUSD) is down 4.0% at 63.31, leading the declines.
Platinum (XPTUSD) is off 3.74% at 1,714.63, while palladium (XPDUSD) is lower by 3.43% at 1,285.02.
In crypto, moves are mixed and more contained: MATUSD is up 3.0% at 0.072, while XLMUSD is down 2.61% at 0.15364 and GRTUSD is off 2.26% at 0.013.
The minutes are watched for how they frame the Fed’s rate outlook, a factor that feeds into pricing across dollar-sensitive markets.
Descriptive market news from the ForexBullion Research Team. Not investment advice.
