FOMC and BOJ Meetings This Week as U.S. Retail Sales Data Released

U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan monetary policy meetings are scheduled for this week. Key economic data releases including U.S. retail sales and import price indices, alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's congressional testimony, will provide critical market signals for the virtual asset sector.

The Fed will hold its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on September 15-16, with the policy statement scheduled to be released at 2:00 PM EDT on September 16 (3:00 AM KST on September 17). The meeting includes the release of the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), which contains Fed officials' forecasts for growth, inflation, unemployment, and interest rates. The U.S. Census Bureau will publish August retail sales data at 9:30 PM KST on September 16, following a July figure of $76.36 billion (approximately 102.5 trillion won), down 0.6% from the previous month but up 5.0% year-over-year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will also release August import and export price indices at the same time.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on September 15 at 11:00 PM KST, discussing international financial systems. The Bank of England (BOE) will release its Monetary Policy Committee meeting results and minutes on September 17, with the current policy rate at 3.75%. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) will hold its monetary policy decision meeting from September 17-18, with Governor Kazuo Ueda's press conference scheduled for 3:30 PM KST on September 18.

Market analysts note that while the SEP released during the FOMC meeting provides insight into future policy paths beyond interest rate decisions, single indicators alone cannot definitively determine market direction. Block reported that U.S. inflation data is unlikely to significantly alter the Fed's September decision, with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) expected to react to interest rate outlooks, liquidity, and underlying demand.