The minutes from the April Fed meeting, to be released on Wednesday, represent one of the final chapters of the Jerome Powell era.
Because of a historic number of dissents from the FOMC vote to hold interest rates steady last month, those notes are also an important event on this week's economic calendar for new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh.
Warsh, whose nomination to succeed Powell was approved by the Senate last Wednesday, faces a difficult task if his first goal is to fulfill President Donald Trump's wish for a lower federal funds rate right now.
Markets will read closely for indications of where voting members of the FOMC stand on inflation and jobs with regime change in process.
Economic reports we're watching
Wednesday, May 20: Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes: The Fed held the target range for its key benchmark at 3.50% to 3.75% as the final policy act under Powell. We'll see what Warsh faces as he assumes the helm of the world's most important central bank.
Read on to see the entire weekly economic calendar of the most important upcoming economic reports scheduled to be released in the next several days. At times, we provide expanded previews and recaps for select reports.
Please check back often. This economic calendar is updated regularly. Bolded reports are those considered more noteworthy. All reporting times are in Eastern Time.
Monday (5/18)
Time released |
Economic report |
Period |
10:00 |
NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index |
May |
Tuesday (5/19)
Time released |
Economic report |
Period |
10 am |
Pending home sales |
April |
7 pm |
Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson speaks |
N/A |
Wednesday (5/20)
Historic FOMC dissent on interest rates
"Three FOMC voters objected to the April FOMC meeting statement language implying the next move would be a cut," Deutsche Bank economist Amy Yang observes, "and multiple officials stressed that recent inflation—particularly services, tariffs, and energy—has 'not been great,' pushing out the timeline for lower rates."
As Yang elaborates, "Rising risks to the inflation outlook have come amidst increasing evidence of stabilization in the labor market." The economist writes that "leadership voices" on the FOMC "again emphasized the policy rate being well positioned, but the marginal shift … was toward optionality and away from an easing bias."
"Hawkish voices" on the FOMC – Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack and Boston Fed President Susan Collins – have "underscored persistent and, in some cases, broad based inflation pressures."
Yan notes that Powell said during his last post-FOMC press conference as Fed chair that the debate around the forward guidance language was "much closer” than during the March Fed meeting.
"We continue to expect rates to stay on indefinite hold near neutral," Yang concludes, citing key variables including the conflict in the Middle East and its impact on commodity prices as well as the Trump administration's tariffs, its immigration policy and the labor market.
Time released |
Economic report |
Period |
2 pm |
Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes |
N/A |
Thursday (5/21)
Time released |
Economic report |
Period |
8:30 am |
Weekly jobless claims |
Week ending May 16 |
8:30 am |
Housing starts |
April |
8:30 am |
Building permits |
April |
8:30 am |
Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index |
May |
9:45 am |
S&P Global Flash Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) |
May |
9:45 am |
S&P Global Flash Manufacturing PMI |
May |
Friday (5/22)
Time released |
Economic report |
Period |
10 am |
University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (revised) |
May |
10 am |
The Conference Board's Leading Indicators Index |
April |
Reporting schedules are provided Forex Factory and MarketWatch.
