It's Fed Decision Day: Here Is What You Need To Know

The Federal Reserve will conclude a two-day long meeting Wednesday and will issue a statement at 2 p.m. ET which will confirm if an interest rate hike has been approved.

According to a Bloomberg report, a string of disappointing economic news over the past few months has led many to believe that an interest rate hike will be delayed until December, if not next year.

Even if a rate hike isn't announced Wednesday, it would be prudent for investors to pay particularly close attention to the tone and language the Federal Reserve uses in its statement which may offer further insight into the timing of a rate hike.

Related Link: Will The Fed Raise Rates This Week? Here's A Projection Based On Prior Fedspeak

As noted by Bloomberg, support for a rate hike increased during the summer months as the U.S. economy created 232,000 jobs on average over the past three months. Some Federal Reserve officials, most notably Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, are concerned the Fed's current low rate policy could be resulting in the economy deliberately overheating.

On the other other hand, key officials including Governors Lael Brainard and Daniel Tarullo, said in recent days that the central bank needs to be patient and wait for proof that inflation is picking up before boosting rates. Specifically, inflation minus food and energy prices read 1.6 percent in the one-year period ending in July which is below the Fed's 2 percent target.

Bloomberg added that a survey among 48 economists assigned an average probability of a rate hike on Wednesday of just 15 percent but the probability of a rate hike in December was a more notable 54 percent.

The survey also found that 65 percent of respondents believe the Federal Reserve will "use a stronger form of forward guidance to signal that it intends to hike rates soon."