An interest rate decision is a central bank's announcement of whether it raises, cuts or keeps its policy interest rate, usually with a statement explaining why. Each central bank sets its own schedule, typically several meetings a year, and publishes the dates in advance. Calendars usually rate these decisions high impact, and they can coincide with higher volatility and wider spreads.
Also called: rate decision, policy rate, rate announcement, central bank decision, rate hike, rate cut
Hypothetical example
Hypothetically, a central bank's rate is 5.00% and the forecast is no change. If it announces 4.75%, the decision is a 0.25 percentage point cut, different from the forecast.
