Every three months since January 2012, the Federal Reserve has sent analysts scurrying by updating its “dot plot,” which has become the de facto monetary policy forecast of the US central bank — whether the Fed wants it to be or not.

The Fed’s dot plot is a chart that records each Fed official’s projection for the central bank’s key short-term interest rate. The dot plot is updated every three months and is meant to provide insight into the Fed’s future rate decisions,