Forward guidance is the language a central bank uses to signal its likely future path — without yet making an actual policy change. A governor saying "further hikes are likely if the data holds" is forward guidance: no rate has moved, but markets have to react as though it might, soon.
Central bankers choose this language carefully, precisely so markets can distinguish between routine, data-dependent commentary and an actual signal. When a policymaker's wording becomes unusually explicit or direct, that shift in tone is often treated as more informative than the headline decision delivered alongside it.