US Federal Reserve (FOMC) and USD Impact💱 Forex•USD/JPY

FOMC Minutes in Focus: USD Steady Amid Rate Cut Debate

SentiSignal Editorial TeamFebruary 18, 2026, 06:02 PM165 words10 sources

USD/JPY

FOMC Minutes in Focus: USD Steady Amid Rate Cut Debate

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The US Dollar is holding steady near 97.30 as markets await the release of the FOMC Minutes, seeking clarity on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy path. While a consensus remains for rate cuts this year, the timing and extent are heavily debated. BNY predicts three cuts by year-end, exceeding current market pricing, fueled by potential disinflation despite strong labor data. However, Deutsche Bank notes the Fed’s patient tone has tempered 2026 easing expectations, modestly boosting Treasury yields. Rabobank analysts caution that the FOMC may underestimate the inflationary and deflationary impacts of Artificial Intelligence, particularly concerning physical resource constraints. Recent economic data presents a mixed picture; durable goods orders declined, while industrial production and core orders increased. The UK’s lower-than-expected inflation data is bolstering expectations for a Bank of England rate cut. The AUD/USD shows a negative bias but could benefit from anticipated Fed easing, while the USD/INR remains flat ahead of the minutes. Market volatility is expected to increase as AI and policy debates evolve.

Source Articles

This article is based on analysis of 17 source articles from our news database.

1
USD: Fed patience tempers 2026 easing hopes – Deutsche Bank
FXStreet·FXStreet Insights Team·fxstreet.com·Feb 18, 2026
2
Fed: AI, rates and volatility – Rabobank
FXStreet·FXStreet Insights Team·fxstreet.com·Feb 18, 2026
3
Fed: Three cuts still expected by year end – BNY
FXStreet·FXStreet Insights Team·fxstreet.com·Feb 17, 2026
4
Fed: Three cuts still expected by year end – BNY
FXStreet·FXStreet Insights Team·fxstreet.com·Feb 17, 2026
5
US Dollar Index (DXY) holds gains above 97.00 ahead of US data, FOMC Minutes
FXStreet·Vishal Chaturvedi·fxstreet.com·Feb 18, 2026
6
AUD/USD Price Forecast: Trades with negative bias below 0.7100; FOMC Minutes in focus
FXStreet·Haresh Menghani·fxstreet.com·Feb 18, 2026
7
USD/INR opens flat ahead of FOMC Minutes
FXStreet·Sagar Dua·fxstreet.com·Feb 18, 2026
8
United States Durable Goods Orders ex Defense dipped from previous 6.6% to -2.5% in December
FXStreet·FXStreet Team·fxstreet.com·Feb 18, 2026
9
United States Housing Starts (MoM) up to 1.322M in November from previous 1.246M
FXStreet·FXStreet Team·fxstreet.com·Feb 18, 2026
10
United Kingdom Retail Price Index (MoM) came in at -0.5% below forecasts (-0.4%) in January
FXStreet·FXStreet Team·fxstreet.com·Feb 18, 2026
11
Dollar edges higher ahead of Fed minutes; sterling gains post CPI
Investing.com·Anuron Mitra·investing.com·Feb 18, 2026
12
EUR/USD slips as markets eye FOMC Minutes
FXStreet·Vishal Chaturvedi·fxstreet.com·Feb 18, 2026
13
US Dollar Index edges up to near 97.20 in countdown to FOMC Minutes
FXStreet·Sagar Dua·fxstreet.com·Feb 18, 2026
14
Forex Today: US Dollar trims gains despite strong ADP jobs data
FXStreet·Agustin Wazne·fxstreet.com·Feb 17, 2026
15
US: Growth cooling back to potential – TD Securities
FXStreet·FXStreet Insights Team·fxstreet.com·Feb 17, 2026
16
Fed’s Barr: We should be prepared for "short-term disruptions" in the labor market from AI
FXStreet·Agustin Wazne·fxstreet.com·Feb 17, 2026
17
EUR/USD loses ground below 1.1850 ahead of FOMC Minutes
FXStreet·Lallalit Srijandorn·fxstreet.com·Feb 18, 2026

About this analysis

This analysis was produced by SentiSignal’s 6-stage editorial pipeline: topic detection across 180+ verified news sources, semantic source selection (Qdrant vector search), enrichment with proprietary price and sentiment data collected in our platform, AI-assisted synthesis (Google Gemini), self-review, and editorial fact-checking before publication. Sentiment scores combine VADER lexicon analysis with LLM classification, weighted by source credibility.

The analysis draws on data unique to this platform: real-time sentiment timelines built from 131,000+ analyzed news items, price data from official central bank APIs (ECB, NBP, FRED, EIA, IMF), and source credibility scores derived from long-term accuracy tracking across our publisher network.

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