Graph and download economic data for FOMC Summary of Economic Projections for the Fed Funds Rate, Range, Midpoint (FEDTARRM) from 2025 to 2027 about projection, federal, rate, and USA.

The U.S. federal funds effective rate underwent a dramatic reduction in early 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rate plummeted from 1.58 percent in February 2020 to 0.65 percent in March, and further decreased to 0.05 percent in April. This sharp reduction, accompanied by the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program, was implemented to stabilize the economy during the global health crisis. After maintaining historically low rates for nearly two years, the Federal Reserve began a series of rate hikes in early 2022, with the rate moving from 0.33 percent in April 2022 to 5.33 percent in August 2023. The rate remained unchanged for over a year, before the Federal Reserve initiated its first rate cut in nearly three years in September 2024, bringing the rate to 5.13 percent. By December 2024, the rate was cut to 4.48 percent, signaling a shift in monetary policy in the second half of 2024. The first rate cut in 2025 then set the rate at 4.33 percent. What is the federal funds effective rate? The U.S. federal funds effective rate determines the interest rate paid by depository institutions, such as banks and credit unions, that lend reserve balances to other depository institutions overnight. Changing the effective rate in times of crisis is a common way to stimulate the economy, as it has a significant impact on the whole economy, such as economic growth, employment, and inflation. Central bank policy rates The adjustment of interest rates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic was a coordinated global effort. In early 2020, central banks worldwide implemented aggressive monetary easing policies to combat the economic crisis. The U.S. Federal Reserve's dramatic reduction of its federal funds rate - from 1.58 percent in February 2020 to 0.05 percent by April - mirrored similar actions taken by central banks globally. While these low rates remained in place throughout 2021, mounting inflationary pressures led to a synchronized tightening cycle beginning in 2022, with central banks pushing rates to multi-year highs. By mid-2024, as inflation moderated across major economies, central banks began implementing their first rate cuts in several years, with the U.S. Federal Reserve, Bank of England, and European Central Bank all easing monetary policy.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Funds Target Range - Upper Limit (DFEDTARU) from 2008-12-16 to 2025-03-26 about federal, interest rate, interest, rate, and USA.

The inflation rate in the United States declined significantly between June 2022 and January 2025, despite rising inflationary pressures towards the end of 2024. The peak inflation rate was recorded in June 2022, at 9.1 percent. In August 2023, the Federal Reserve's interest rate hit its highest level during the observed period, at 5.33 percent, and remained unchanged until September 2024, when the Federal Reserve implemented its first rate cut since September 2021. By January 2025, the rate dropped to 4.33 percent, signalling a shift in monetary policy. What is the Federal Reserve interest rate? The Federal Reserve interest rate, or the federal funds rate, is the rate at which banks and credit unions lend to and borrow from each other. It is one of the Federal Reserve's key tools for maintaining strong employment rates, stable prices, and reasonable interest rates. The rate is determined by the Federal Reserve and adjusted eight times a year, though it can be changed through emergency meetings during times of crisis. The Fed doesn't directly control the interest rate but sets a target rate. It then uses open market operations to influence rates toward this target. Ways of measuring inflation Inflation is typically measured using several methods, with the most common being the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI tracks the price of a fixed basket of goods and services over time, providing a measure of the price changes consumers face. At the end of 2023, the CPI in the United States was 158.11 percent, up from 153.12 a year earlier. A more business-focused measure is the producer price index (PPI), which represents the costs of firms.

The benchmark interest rate in Japan was last recorded at 0.50 percent. This dataset provides - Japan Interest Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

In January 2025, global inflation rates and central bank interest rates showed significant variation across major economies. Most economies initiated interest rate cuts from mid-2024 due to declining inflationary pressures. The U.S., UK, and EU central banks followed a consistent pattern of regular rate reductions throughout late 2024. In early 2025, Russia maintained the highest interest rate at 21 percent, while Japan retained the lowest at 0.5 percent. Varied inflation rates across major economies The inflation landscape varies considerably among major economies. China had the lowest inflation rate at 0.5 percent in January 2025. In contrast, Russia maintained a high inflation rate of 9.9 percent. These figures align with broader trends observed in early 2025, where China had the lowest inflation rate among major developed and emerging economies, while Russia's rate remained the highest. Central bank responses and economic indicators Central banks globally implemented aggressive rate hikes throughout 2022-23 to combat inflation. The European Central Bank exemplified this trend, raising rates from 0 percent in January 2022 to 4.5 percent by September 2023. A coordinated shift among major central banks began in mid-2024, with the ECB, Bank of England, and Federal Reserve initiating rate cuts, with forecasts suggesting further cuts through 2025 and 2026.

The Federal Reserve's balance sheet has undergone significant changes since 2007, reflecting its response to major economic crises. From a modest 0.9 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of 2007, it ballooned to approximately 6.76 trillion U.S. dollars by March 2025. This dramatic expansion, particularly during the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic - both of which resulted in negative annual GDP growth in the U.S. - showcases the Fed's crucial role in stabilizing the economy through expansionary monetary policies. Impact on inflation and interest rates The Fed's expansionary measures, while aimed at stimulating economic growth, have had notable effects on inflation and interest rates. Following the quantitative easing in 2020, inflation in the United States reached eight percent in 2022, the highest since 1991. However, by November 2024, inflation had declined to 2.7 percent. Concurrently, the Federal Reserve implemented a series of interest rate hikes, with the rate peaking at 5.33 percent in August 2023, before the first rate cut since September 2021 occurred in September 2024. Financial implications for the Federal Reserve The expansion of the Fed's balance sheet and subsequent interest rate hikes have had significant financial implications. In 2023, the Fed reported a negative net income of 114.3 billion U.S. dollars, a stark contrast to the 58.84 billion U.S. dollars profit in 2022. This unprecedented shift was primarily due to rapidly rising interest rates, which caused the Fed's interest expenses to soar to over 281 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. Despite this, the Fed's net interest income on securities acquired through open market operations reached a record high of 174.53 billion U.S. dollars in the same year.

As of October 16, 2024, the yield for a ten-year U.S. government bond was 4.04 percent, while the yield for a two-year bond was 3.96 percent. This represents an inverted yield curve, whereby bonds of longer maturities provide a lower yield, reflecting investors' expectations for a decline in long-term interest rates. Hence, making long-term debt holders open to more risk under the uncertainty around the condition of financial markets in the future. That markets are uncertain can be seen by considering both the short-term fluctuations, and the long-term downward trend, of the yields of U.S. government bonds from 2006 to 2021, before the treasury yield curve increased again significantly in 2022 and 2023. What are government bonds? Government bonds, otherwise called ‘sovereign’ or ‘treasury’ bonds, are financial instruments used by governments to raise money for government spending. Investors give the government a certain amount of money (the ‘face value’), to be repaid at a specified time in the future (the ‘maturity date’). In addition, the government makes regular periodic interest payments (called ‘coupon payments’). Once initially issued, government bonds are tradable on financial markets, meaning their value can fluctuate over time (even though the underlying face value and coupon payments remain the same). Investors are attracted to government bonds as, provided the country in question has a stable economy and political system, they are a very safe investment. Accordingly, in periods of economic turmoil, investors may be willing to accept a negative overall return in order to have a safe haven for their money. For example, once the market value is compared to the total received from remaining interest payments and the face value, investors have been willing to accept a negative return on two-year German government bonds between 2014 and 2021. Conversely, if the underlying economy and political structures are weak, investors demand a higher return to compensate for the higher risk they take on. Consequently, the return on bonds in emerging markets like Brazil are consistently higher than that of the United States (and other developed economies). Inverted yield curves When investors are worried about the financial future, it can lead to what is called an ‘inverted yield curve’. An inverted yield curve is where investors pay more for short term bonds than long term, indicating they do not have confidence in long-term financial conditions. Historically, the yield curve has historically inverted before each of the last five U.S. recessions. The last U.S. yield curve inversion occurred at several brief points in 2019 – a trend which continued until the Federal Reserve cut interest rates several times over that year. However, the ultimate trigger for the next recession was the unpredicted, exogenous shock of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, showing how such informal indicators may be grounded just as much in coincidence as causation.

The benchmark interest rate in Hong Kong was last recorded at 4.75 percent. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Hong Kong Interest Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

The benchmark interest rate in Mexico was last recorded at 9.50 percent. This dataset provides - Mexico Interest Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Graph and download economic data for 13) To the Extent That the Price or Nonprice Terms Applied to Trading Reits Have Tightened or Eased over the Past Three Months (as Reflected in Your Responses to Questions 11 and 12), What Are the Most Important Reasons for the Change?| A. Possible Reasons for Tightening | 2. Reduced Willingness of Your Institution to Take on Risk. | Answer Type: 3rd Most Important (ALLQ13A23MINR) from Q1 2012 to Q4 2024 about ease, REIT, change, 3-month, trade, price, and USA.

Effective Federal Funds Rate in the United States remained unchanged at 4.33 percent on Tuesday February 11. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States Effective Federal Funds Rate.

Graph and download economic data for 25) To the Extent That the Price or Nonprice Terms Applied to Insurance Companies Have Tightened or Eased over the Past Three Months (as Reflected in Your Responses to Questions 23 and 24), What Are the Most Important Reasons for the Change?| A. Possible Reasons for Tightening | 2. Reduced Willingness of Your Institution to Take on Risk. | Answer Type: First in Importance (ALLQ25A2MINR) from Q1 2012 to Q4 2024 about ease, change, companies, insurance, 3-month, price, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for 6) To the Extent That the Price or Nonprice Terms Applied to Hedge Funds Have Tightened or Eased over the Past Three Months (as Reflected in Your Responses to Questions 4 and 5), What Are the Most Important Reasons for the Change?| A. Possible Reasons for Tightening | 2. Reduced Willingness of Your Institution to Take on Risk. | Answer Type: 3rd Most Important (CTQ06A23MINR) from Q1 2012 to Q4 2024 about Hedge Fund, ease, change, 3-month, price, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for 31) To the Extent That the Price or Nonprice Terms Applied to Separately Managed Accounts Established with Investment Advisers Have Tightened or Eased over the Past Three Months (as Reflected in Your Responses to Questions 29 and 30), What Are the Most Important Reasons for the Change?| A. Possible Reasons for Tightening | 2. Reduced Willingness of Your Institution to Take on Risk. | Answer Type: 2nd Most Important (CTQ31A22MINR) from Q1 2012 to Q4 2024 about ease, separations, change, accounts, management, 3-month, investment, price, and USA.

View data of the S&P 500, an index of the stocks of 500 leading companies in the US economy, which provides a gauge of the U.S. equity market.

The benchmark interest rate in the United Arab Emirates was last recorded at 4.40 percent. This dataset provides - United Arab Emirates Interest Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The benchmark interest rate in Macau was last recorded at 4.75 percent. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Macao Interest Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Graph and download economic data for 19) To the Extent That the Price or Nonprice Terms Applied to Mutual Funds, Etfs, Pension Plans, and Endowments Have Tightened or Eased over the Past Three Months (as Reflected in Your Responses to Questions 17 and 18), What Are the Most Important Reasons for the Change?| A. Possible Reasons for Tightening | 2. Reduced Willingness of Your Institution to Take on Risk. | Answer Type: 2nd Most Important (ALLQ19A22MINR) from Q1 2012 to Q4 2024 about pension plans, ease, change, ETF, mutual funds, 3-month, price, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for 37) To the Extent That the Price or Nonprice Terms Applied to Nonfinancial Corporations Have Tightened or Eased over the Past Three Months (as Reflected in Your Responses to Questions 35 and 36), What Are the Most Important Reasons for the Change?| A. Possible Reasons for Tightening | 2. Reduced Willingness of Your Institution to Take on Risk. | Answer Type: First in Importance (ALLQ37A2MINR) from Q1 2012 to Q4 2024 about ease, change, 3-month, nonfinancial, corporate, price, and USA.