The benchmark interest rate in the United States was last recorded at 4.50 percent. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Fed Funds Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

The Volcker Shock was a period of historically high interest rates precipitated by Federal Reserve Chairperson Paul Volcker's decision to raise the central bank's key interest rate, the Fed funds effective rate, during the first three years of his term. Volcker was appointed chairperson of the Fed in August 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, as replacement for William Miller, who Carter had made his treasury secretary. Volcker was one of the most hawkish (supportive of tighter monetary policy to stem inflation) members of the Federal Reserve's committee, and quickly set about changing the course of monetary policy in the U.S. in order to quell inflation. The Volcker Shock is remembered for bringing an end to over a decade of high inflation in the United States, prompting a deep recession and high unemployment, and for spurring on debt defaults among developing countries in Latin America who had borrowed in U.S. dollars.

Monetary tightening and the recessions of the early '80s

Beginning in October 1979, Volcker's Fed tightened monetary policy by raising interest rates. This decision had the effect of depressing demand and slowing down the U.S. economy, as credit became more expensive for households and businesses. The Fed funds rate, the key overnight rate at which banks lend their excess reserves to each other, rose as high as 17.6 percent in early 1980. The rate was allowed to fall back below 10 percent following this first peak, however, due to worries that inflation was not falling fast enough, a second cycle of monetary tightening was embarked upon starting in August of 1980. The rate would reach its all-time peak in June of 1981, at 19.1 percent. The second recession sparked by these hikes was far deeper than the 1980 recession, with unemployment peaking at 10.8 percent in December 1980, the highest level since The Great Depression. This recession would drive inflation to a low point during Volcker's terms of 2.5 percent in August 1983.

The legacy of the Volcker Shock

By the end of Volcker's terms as Fed Chair, inflation was at a manageable rate of around four percent, while unemployment had fallen under six percent, as the economy grew and business confidence returned. While supporters of Volcker's actions point to these numbers as proof of the efficacy of his actions, critics have claimed that there were less harmful ways that inflation could have been brought under control. The recessions of the early 1980s are cited as accelerating deindustrialization in the U.S., as manufacturing jobs lost in 'rust belt' states such as Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania never returned during the years of recovery. The Volcker Shock was also a driving factor behind the Latin American debt crises of the 1980s, as governments in the region defaulted on debts which they had incurred in U.S. dollars. Debates about the validity of using interest rate hikes to get inflation under control have recently re-emerged due to the inflationary pressures facing the U.S. following the Coronavirus pandemic and the Federal Reserve's subsequent decision to embark on a course of monetary tightening.

United States - Import Price Index (Harmonized System): Seats Other Than Barber, Dental and Similar Chairs, Whether or Not Convertible Into Beds, and Parts Thereof was 118.50000 Index Dec 2001=100 in December of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Import Price Index (Harmonized System): Seats Other Than Barber, Dental and Similar Chairs, Whether or Not Convertible Into Beds, and Parts Thereof reached a record high of 121.30000 in May of 2022 and a record low of 100.00000 in December of 2001. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Import Price Index (Harmonized System): Seats Other Than Barber, Dental and Similar Chairs, Whether or Not Convertible Into Beds, and Parts Thereof - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

United States - Export Price Index (Harmonized System): Seats other than barber, dental and similar chairs was 103.00000 Index Dec 2011=100 in December of 2019, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Export Price Index (Harmonized System): Seats other than barber, dental and similar chairs reached a record high of 105.80000 in April of 2016 and a record low of 100.00000 in January of 2012. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Export Price Index (Harmonized System): Seats other than barber, dental and similar chairs - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

United States - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Furniture and Household Durables: Upholstered Household Rocking Chairs, Including Swivel Rockers was 145.93500 Index Dec 2011=100 in May of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Furniture and Household Durables: Upholstered Household Rocking Chairs, Including Swivel Rockers reached a record high of 146.58200 in December of 2022 and a record low of 99.80000 in January of 2012. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Furniture and Household Durables: Upholstered Household Rocking Chairs, Including Swivel Rockers - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.