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The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Federal Reserve's monetary policy-setting arm, begins a two-day meeting today that is widely expected to conclude with a quarter-point rate hike.

"A rate hike is a virtual certainty at this point," said NAFCU Vice President of Research and Chief Economist Curt Long. "Observers will be focused on the committee's forecast for 2018, and in [Fed Chair] Janet Yellen's post-meeting press conference. But given that this will be her final address, it's likely she will avoid any specifics as to how rates may evolve in the future."

The committee last raised the federal funds target rate to a range of 1 to 1.25 percent in June.

NAFCU's research team will issue a Macro Data Flash on the results of the FOMC's meeting Wednesday.