Fed’s Powell says he will begin press conferences following each meeting starting in January

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will become more of a presence to investors starting in January 2019, when he begins holding news conferences after every central bank meeting.

Powell made the announcement Wednesday, after the conclusion of the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee’s two-day meeting.

Speculation began in February that he would interact more with the press, and then increased in the days before the June meeting.

The move means that Powell will now take questions from the press after each of the committee’s eight policy meetings held each year.

However, Powell said not to read too much into it.

“Having twice as many press conferences does not signal anything about the timing or pace of future interest rate changes,” he said. “This is only about improving communication.”

The news conferences began under former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who held them to explain the unprecedented measures the central bank took to pull the economy out of the financial crisis. The most recent chair, Janet Yellen, also held news conferences quarterly. Some other central bank leaders around the world talk to the press after each meeting.