# Week ahead, 26–30 October 2026: the Fed, ECB, Bank of Japan, Bank of Canada and RBNZ all decide, and US GDP lands > Five central banks decide in three days, from the Fed and the Bank of Canada on Wednesday to the ECB on Thursday and the Bank of Japan on Friday. US third-quarter GDP and September PCE inflation come on Thursday, and Europe's clocks go back on Sunday. - Canonical URL: https://forextradingcommunity.com/news/forex-week-ahead-26-30-october-2026/ - Type: Preview - Published: 2026-10-25 - Updated: 2026-10-25 - Publisher: Forex Trading Community (https://forextradingcommunity.com), FTC Editorial Team - Currencies: USD, EUR, JPY, CAD, NZD, AUD The week of 26 October is the densest of the autumn. The Federal Reserve, the Bank of Canada, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan all announce decisions, and the US publishes third-quarter GDP and September PCE inflation. Dates and times below come from each institution's own calendar. ## Sunday 25 October: clocks change in Europe Europe's summer time ends on Sunday, so from Monday London and Frankfurt are one hour closer to UTC. US clocks do not change until 1 November, so for a week the gap between London and New York is four hours, not five, and the London session closes an hour later in UTC, which lengthens its overlap with New York by an hour. Sydney moved to summer time on 4 October. The [market sessions page](/calendar/sessions/) shows the times in UTC. ## Tuesday 27 October: FOMC day one The Fed's meeting runs 27–28 October. It is not a meeting with new projections. ## Wednesday 28 October: the Fed, Bank of Canada, RBNZ and Australian CPI - **Australian CPI for September** from the ABS, after August's 4.0% ([report](/news/australia-cpi-august-2026-4-0-percent/)) - **Reserve Bank of New Zealand**: Monetary Policy Review and OCR decision at 2:00 pm New Zealand time, with the rate at 2.75% ([September report](/news/rbnz-raises-ocr-to-2-75-september-2026/)) - **Bank of Canada**: rate announcement and Monetary Policy Report at 9:45 a.m. Eastern Time, with the rate at 2.25% - **Federal Reserve**: statement at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time and press conference at 2:30 p.m. The target range is 3.75%–4.00% ## Thursday 29 October: the ECB and US growth and PCE - **ECB**: the Governing Council's decision at 14:15 Frankfurt time, with the deposit rate at 2.50% and September inflation at 3.8% ([report](/news/euro-area-inflation-september-2026-flash-estimate/)). The press conference follows at 14:45 - **United States**: the advance estimate of third-quarter GDP and September's personal income and outlays, both at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, the day after the Fed decides. Second-quarter growth stood at 2.2% ([report](/news/us-gdp-second-quarter-2026-third-estimate/)) and August PCE inflation at 3.4% ([report](/news/us-pce-inflation-august-2026/)) - **Bank of Japan**: the first day of its two-day meeting ## Friday 30 October: the Bank of Japan, Tokyo CPI and Canadian GDP The Bank of Japan announces its decision with the quarterly Outlook Report. Policy stands at 1.25%. Tokyo's October CPI is published the same day after September's core rate of 2.7% ([report](/news/tokyo-cpi-september-2026-core-2-7-percent/)), and Statistics Canada publishes August GDP. ## What comes after The US jobs report for October is on 6 November, and the Bank of England decides on 5 November. [How interest rate decisions move currencies](/news/how-interest-rate-decisions-move-currencies/) explains why guidance can matter more than the decision, and the [FTC economic calendar](/calendar/) lists every release with its time. ## Sources - [Federal Reserve Board: calendar of events, October 2026 (FOMC 27–28 October; statement 2:00 p.m., press conference 2:30 p.m. on 28 October)](https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/2026-october.htm) - [Bank of Canada: policy interest rate and 2026 announcement schedule (28 October 2026)](https://www.bankofcanada.ca/core-functions/monetary-policy/key-interest-rate/) - [Reserve Bank of New Zealand: Monetary Policy Review and OCR, October 2026](https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/news-and-events/events/2026/october/monetary-policy-review-and-ocr-october-2026) - [European Central Bank: Governing Council monetary policy meetings, 2026 (28–29 October)](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/calendars/mgcgc/html/index.en.html) - [Bank of Japan: Monetary Policy Meetings, schedule and releases (29–30 October 2026)](https://www.boj.or.jp/en/mopo/mpmsche_minu/index.htm) - [U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis: release schedule (GDP advance estimate and personal income and outlays, 29 October 2026)](https://www.bea.gov/news/schedule) - [Australian Bureau of Statistics: Consumer Price Index, Australia (next release 28 October 2026)](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/price-indexes-and-inflation/consumer-price-index-australia/latest-release) - [Statistics Bureau of Japan: schedule of release (Tokyo CPI for October: 30 October 2026)](https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/cpi/1582.html) - [Statistics Canada: 2026 release dates (GDP by industry, August: 30 October 2026)](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/release-diffusion/2026-eng.pdf) ## Common questions ### Which central banks decide in the week of 26 October 2026? The Federal Reserve, the Bank of Canada and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand on 28 October, the European Central Bank on 29 October and the Bank of Japan on 30 October. ### What time is the Fed decision on 28 October 2026? The statement is at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time and the press conference at 2:30 p.m., according to the Fed's calendar. ### What time is the ECB decision on 29 October 2026? 14:15 Frankfurt time, with the press conference at 14:45. ### When is US third-quarter GDP released? The advance estimate is on 29 October 2026 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, together with September's personal income and outlays. ### When do the clocks change in October 2026? Europe's clocks go back on Sunday 25 October. US clocks change on 1 November, so the London–New York gap is four hours for a week. --- This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Trading forex and CFDs carries a high risk of losing money.