Current Federal Reserve Interest Rates and Why They Change

At its July meeting, the Federal Reserve announced that it would be increasing its target for the federal funds rate (the benchmark for most ... TableofContents Expand TableofContents TheFed'sCurrentGoals WhytheFedRaisesorLowersRates HowtheFedFundsRateWorks FrequentlyAskedQuestions(FAQs) USEconomy GDPGrowth&Recessions Partof UnderstandingInterestRates HowInterestWorks TheFedFundsRate CurrentFedRates WhenRatesWillRise HowRatesAreSet MonetaryPolicy CalculatingAPY Savings&LoanRates MortgageRates CurrentFederalReserveInterestRatesandWhyTheyChange InJuly2022,theFedincreasedinterestratesby75basispointsagain ••• SamuelCorum/GettyImages By KimberlyAmadeo FullBio LinkedIn KimberlyAmadeoisanexpertonU.S.andworldeconomiesandinvesting,withover20yearsofexperienceineconomicanalysisandbusinessstrategy.SheisthePresidentoftheeconomicwebsiteWorldMoneyWatch.AsawriterforTheBalance,Kimberlyprovidesinsightonthestateofthepresent-dayeconomy,aswellaspasteventsthathavehadalastingimpact. Learnaboutour editorialpolicies UpdatedJuly27,2022 Reviewedby RobertC.Kelly Reviewedby RobertC.Kelly FullBio RobertKellyismanagingdirectorofXTSEnergyLLC,andhasmorethanthreedecadesofexperienceasabusinessexecutive.Heisaprofessorofeconomicsandhasraisedmorethan$4.5billionininvestmentcapital. Learnaboutour FinancialReviewBoard Factcheckedby DavidRubin Factcheckedby DavidRubin FullBio LinkedIn Twitter DavidJ.RubinisafactcheckerforTheBalancewithmorethan30yearsineditingandpublishing.Themajorityofhisexperiencelieswithinthelegalandfinancialspaces.AtlegalpublisherMatthewBender&Co./LexisNexis,hewasamanagerofR&D,programmeranalyst,andseniorcopyeditor. Learnaboutour editorialpolicies AtitsJulymeeting,theFederalReserveannouncedthatitwouldbeincreasingitstargetforthefederalfundsrate(thebenchmarkformostinterestrates)by0.75%toarangeof2.25%to2.5%.TheannouncementcomesastheFedcontinuestotrytocurbrecord-highinflation. TheFedbeganraisingratesinMarch,markingthefirstincreasesince2018.ThroughouttheCOVID-19pandemic,theFedhasmaintainedanear-zerotargetinterestrate. TheFed'sCurrentGoals WhiletheFed'sgoalistosupporttheeconomyasitcontinuestoreboundfromthecoronaviruspandemic,italsoaimstocombattheeffectsofelevatedinflation. Thenation'scentralbankusesitsFederalOpenMarketCommittee(FOMC)tomakethesedecisions.Itmeetseighttimesperyeartodiscusscurrentconditionsanddecidewhatactionstotake. Thecommitteehadattemptedtoreachapointwhereinflationaverages2%overthelongtermbyallowinginflationtorisemoderatelyabove2%intheshortterm. ThefedfundsrateiscriticallytiedtotheU.S.economicoutlook.Itdirectlyinfluencesprevailinginterestratessuchastheprimerateandaffectswhatconsumersarechargedoncreditcards,loans,andmortgages.  Thefedfundsrateistheinterestrate banks chargeeachothertolend FederalReservefundsovernight.Thenation'scentralbankusesitinadditiontoothertoolstopromoteeconomicstabilitybyraisingorloweringthecostofborrowing. WhytheFedRaisesorLowersInterestRates  TheFOMC'sgoalistopromotemaximumemployment,stableprices,andmoderatelong-terminterestrates. TheFedusesinterestratesasalevertogrowtheeconomyorputthebrakesonit.Iftheeconomyisslowing,theFOMClowersinterestratestomakeitcheaperforbusinessestoborrowmoney,invest,andcreatejobs.Lowerinterestratesalsoallowconsumerstoborrowandspendmore,whichhelpsspurtheeconomy.  Ontheotherhand,iftheeconomyisgrowingtoofastandinflationisheatingup,theFedmayraiseinterestratestocurtailspendingandborrowing. ThelasttimetheFedcutthefedfundsrateto0.25%wasinDecember2008.Thatwastoaddressthe2008financialcrisis. Theratewasatvirtually0%fromDecember2008untilDecember2015.Then,astheeconomypickedupsteam,theFedbegantoraisethebenchmark,anditrosesteadilyuntil2018. In2019,theFedreversedcourse,slowlyloweringratestocounteractaweakeconomy.InMarch2020,itreactedswiftlytotheCOVID-19pandemic.Thehealthcrisisrockednotonlythefinancialmarketsbutthebroaderglobaleconomyandeverydaylifearoundtheworld.OnMarch11,2020,theWorldHealthOrganizationdeclareditapandemic. HowtheFedFundsRateWorks Thefedfundsrateisoneofthemostsignificantleadingeconomicindicatorsintheworld.Itsimportanceispsychologicalaswellasfinancial. TheFOMCtargetsaspecificlevelforthefedfundsrate.Itdeterminestheinterestratesbankschargeoneanotherforovernightloans.Banksusetheseloans,calledthefedfunds,tohelpthemmeetthecashreserverequirement. TheFedsetsareserverequirement,whichisapercentageofdepositsabankmustkeeponhandeachnight.Ifbanksdon'thaveenoughcapitaltomeettherequirement,theyborrowfederalfundsfrombanksthathaveexcess. Thefederalfundsrateistheinterestchargedontheseloans. Alongwithcuttingitsbenchmarkrate,theFedloweredthereserverequirementto0%inMarch2020. Alowerfederalfundsrateencouragesbankstolendmoretohouseholdsandbusinessesbecausetheymakemoremoneyfromtheseloansthanfromlendingeachothertheirreserves. Traditionally,theFedmanagesthefedfundsratewithopenmarketoperations.ItbuysorsellsU.S.governmentsecuritiesfromFederalReservememberbanks.WhentheFedbuyssecurities,thatpurchaseincreasesthereservesofthebankassociatedwiththesale,whichmakesthebankmorelikelytolend.Toattractborrowers,thebanklowersinterestrates,includingtherateitchargesotherbanks. WhentheFedsellsasecurity,theoppositehappens.Bankreservesfall,makingthebankmorelikelytoborrowandcausingthefedfundsratetorise.Theseshiftsinthefedfundsrateripplethroughtherestofthecreditmarkets,influencingothershort-terminterestratessuchassavings,bankloans,creditcardinterestrates,andadjustable-ratemortgages. TheFed'sactionsduringthefinancialcrisissentbanks’reservebalancessoaring.Asaresult,theynolongerhadtoborrowfromoneanothertomeetreserverequirements. KeyTakeaways InJuly,theFederalReserveannouncedthatitwouldraiseinterestratesby0.75%,shiftingthetargetrangeto2.25%to2.5%.DuringtheCovid-19pandemic,theinterestratewaskeptatanear-zerorangebuthaschangedcourseasinflationhassurged.Thefedfundsratedirectlyinfluencesprevailinginterestratessuchastheprimerateandwhatconsumersarechargedoncreditcards,loans,andmortgages. FrequentlyAskedQuestions(FAQs) Howarethefederalfundsrateanddiscountratedifferent? Whilethefederalfundsratereflectstheratethatbankschargeeachotherforborrowingreservefunds,thediscountrateiswhattheFederalReservechargesitsmemberbankstoborrowfundsdirectlyfromtheFedtocovertemporaryshortfalls.ThefedfundsrateisinfluencedbyactionsoftheFederalOpenMarketCommitteebutisultimatelysetbythemarket,anditvariesslightlyacrossthedifferentFedbanks.Thediscountrate,ontheotherhand,issetbytheFed'sboardandisthesameforeverybankintheFed. Whyisthefederalfundsratesoinfluentialonotherinterestrates? Thefedfundsrateaffectsotherinterestratesbecauseitdetermineswhetherbankscanmakemoremoneybylendingtoeachotherorbylendingtootherborrowers.Whenthefedfundsrateisverylow,bankswillbebetterofflendingtoothers.Althoughotherrateswillrisewhenthefedfundsraterises,fewerconsumersandbusinesseswillseekloansatthosehighrates,thusslowingdownlendingontheopenmarket.Eventually,thiswillleadtheFedtolowerthefundsrateagain,thuscontinuingthecycle. Howdoesthefederalfundsrateaffectthemoneysupply? Alowerfedfundsratewillincreasethemoneysupplybyencouragingmorelending,borrowing,andbusinessactivityontheopenmarket.Ahigherrate,ontheotherhand,discourageslendinganddecreasesthemoneysupply. ArticleSources BoardofGovernorsoftheFederalReserveSystem."FederalReserveIssuesFOMCStatement." BoardofGovernorsoftheFederalReserveSystem."FederalReserveActionstoSupporttheFlowofCredittoHouseholdsandBusinesses." BoardofGovernorsoftheFederalReserveSystem."TheFedExplained:WhattheCentralBankDoes,"Pages12-13. BoardofGovernorsoftheFederalReserveSystem."OpenMarketOperations." WorldHealthOrganization."WHODirector-General'sOpeningRemarksattheMediaBriefingonCOVID-19-11March2020." BoardofGovernorsoftheFederalReserveSystem."ReserveRequirements." FederalReserveBankofPhiladelphia."ImplementingMonetaryPolicyinaChangingFederalFundsMarket,"Pages15-16. Share Tweet Share Email PartOf UnderstandingInterestRates Interest 1of9 TheMostPowerfulInterestRateintheWorld 2of9 WhatIstheCurrentFedInterestRate,andWhyDoesItChange? 3of9 HowRisingInterestRatesAffectYou 4of9 WhoDeterminesInterestRates? 5of9 HowLowInterestRatesCreateMoreMoneyforYou 6of9 AnnualPercentageYield 7of9 WhatIsanInterestRateonaLoanorSavingsAccount? 8of9 HowTreasuryNotesAffectMortgageRates 9of9 TheMostPowerfulInterestRateintheWorld DoestheFederalReserveorU.S.TreasuryPrintMoney? WhatYouNeedToKnowAbouttheFederalOpenMarketCommitteeMeeting HowtheFedControlsInflation HowRisingInterestRatesAffectYou FOMC:WhatItIs,WhoIsonItandWhatItDoes MonetaryPolicy FedFightsInflationWithSecondSuper-SizedRateHike HowIstheU.S.EconomyDoing? HowtheFedInfluencesInterestRates U.S.EconomicOutlookfor2022andBeyond HowtheFedFundsRateHasChangedThroughHistory FederalReserveDiscountRate FederalReserveDictionary:YourGuidetotheJargon TheSecrettoHowtheFedControlsInterestRates FederalReserve