The economic calendar is jam-packed in the last full week of January. Most notable is the next Fed meeting, which kicks off on Tuesday and concludes Wednesday with a mid-afternoon policy announcement. Wall Street will also be tuned into Friday's release of a key inflation reading.
Wednesday, January 29: Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy statement: The FOMC kept interest rates unchanged at its January meeting, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell having little to say on potential Trump administration policies.
Friday, January 31: Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) and core PCE: Headline PCE accelerated in December.
You can read on to see the entire weekly economic calendar of the most important upcoming economic reports scheduled to be released over 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 and all reporting times are in Eastern Standard Time.
Economic calendar highlights
Monday (1/27)
Tuesday (1/28)
Wednesday (1/29)
Fed kept rates steady, Powell talks uncertainty
The January Fed meeting concluded Wednesday afternoon with the latest policy announcement. As expected, he group kept the federal funds rate unchanged this time around – even after President Donald Trump said last week that he will "demand interest rates drop immediately."
In his subsequent press conference, Powell said the central bank is in no hurry to raise rates given the strong labor market. He added that he'd like to see sustained improvement on inflation before the Fed cuts rates again.
As for possible Trump administration policies, Powell said that we "don't know what will happen with tariffs, with immigration, with fiscal policy, with regulatory policy," and that it's difficult to provide any potential implications for the economy until they are enacted.
"No surprise the Fed is on hold," says Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group. "Even they have to wait and see Trump’s policies on taxes, immigration, deregulation and tariffs before they cut rates."
Thursday (1/30)
Friday (1/31)
Headline PCE picked up steam to end 2024
The PCE is a main event on the economic calendar. The data, which track consumer spending, follow recent reports showing that inflation remains sticky.
In December, headline PCE was up 0.3% month over month and 2.6% year over year, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This was faster than the respective increases of 0.2% and 2.4% seen in November.
Core PCE, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.2% on the month, quicker than 0.1% in November. Year over year, core PCE was unchanged at 2.8%.
The report also showed that personal income rose 0.4% in December, while consumer spending was up 0.7%.
"Some of that consumption buoyancy is thanks to robust capital markets and a declining savings rate, while another contributor stems from powerful wage growth," says José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers. "Indeed, a separate report from a distinct federal agency known as the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Cost Index (ECI) depicted accelerating compensation expenses on behalf of employers."
Reporting schedules are provided Forex Factory and MarketWatch.
