What to Look Out for in Economic Data This Week (January 26-30)
The last week of January features the first Fed meeting of 2026, and market observers will pay close attention to Chair Jerome Powell's press conference.
The week's economic calendar features the Federal Open Market Committee;s (FOMC) statement on inflation, employment and the economy, due on Wednesday afternoon. CME FedWatch shows a 97% probability the Fed holds the target range for the federal funds rate steady at 3.50% to 3.75%. Chair Jerome Powell will likely stick to monetary policy rather than weighing in again on President Donald Trump and central bank independence as he approaches the end of his term as the leader of the Fed.
Economic reports we're watching
Wednesday, January 28: FOMC policy statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference: The FOMC is expected to hold the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged at 3.50% to 3.75%. Market participants will pay close attention to Powell's comments amid a Justice Department investigation of the central bank.
Thursday, January 29: Weekly jobless claims: Both initial and continuing claims for unemployment insurance continue to come in below expectations, and that's a good thing. Not only is there no sign of accelerating layoffs. If anything, the data shows the opposite.
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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.
Reports that have been delayed due to the government shutdown are marked with an asterisk (*).
Monday (1/26)
Time released | Economic report | Period |
8:30 am | Durable goods orders* | November |
Tuesday (1/27)
Time released | Economic report | Period |
10 am | The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index | January |
Wednesday (1/28)
What will the Fed chair say?
The Federal Open Market Committee cut interest rates three times at the end of 2025, taking a total of 75 basis points off its target range for the federal funds rate.
As of the most recent 25-basis-point move in December, the target range is 3.50% to 3.75%. The Fed's December 2025 dot plot shows a median projection of one 25-basis-point cut by the end of 2026, to 3.25% to 3.50%.
"We expect the post-meeting statement and press conference to signal maximum flexibility," Wells Fargo economists Sarah House, Michael Pugliese and Tom Porcelli write, "as the Committee strives to keep its options open."
The economists expect two 25-basis-point cuts, in March and June, but acknowledge that additional easing could happen later, perhaps not even that often.
"In fact," they observe, "given our view on how economic growth will evolve this year, there is a sound argument that the longer the FOMC waits to cut, the higher the hurdle becomes to justify on economic grounds the need to ease further."
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is unlikely to expand on a statement he made after the Department of Justice served the central bank with subpoenas earlier this month as part of an investigation of renovations to the central bank's buildings in Washington, D.C.
"It is likely that Chair Powell will be asked about the DoJ's investigation," House, Pugliese and Porcelli write, "but we expect him to respond that he has already said what he has to say on the matter."
Time released | Economic report | Period |
2 pm | Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy statement | N/A |
2:30 pm | Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's press conference | N/A |
Thursday (1/29)
Time released | Economic report | Period |
8:30 am | Weekly jobless claims | Week ending January 24 |
8:30 am | Trade balance* | November |
8:30 am | Nonfarm productivity | Q3 |
10 am | Factory orders* | November |
10 am | Wholesale inventories* | November |
Friday (1/30)
Time released | Economic report | Period |
8:30 am | Producer Price Index (PPI)* | December |
8:30 am | Core PPI* | December |
Reporting schedules are provided Forex Factory and MarketWatch.
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