The U.S. federal funds rate peaked in 2023 at its highest level since the 2007-08 financial crisis, reaching 5.33 percent by December 2023. A significant shift in monetary policy occurred in the second half of 2024, with the Federal Reserve implementing regular rate cuts. By December 2024, the rate had declined to 4.48 percent. What is a central bank rate? The federal funds rate determines the cost of overnight borrowing between banks, allowing them to maintain necessary cash reserves and ensure financial system liquidity. When this rate rises, banks become more inclined to hold rather than lend money, reducing the money supply. While this decreased lending slows economic activity, it helps control inflation by limiting the circulation of money in the economy. Historic perspective The federal funds rate historically follows cyclical patterns, falling during recessions and gradually rising during economic recoveries. Some central banks, notably the European Central Bank, went beyond traditional monetary policy by implementing both aggressive asset purchases and negative interest rates.

In May 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 20 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 -0.1 percent in May 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.

Exploiting variation in the timing of resets of adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), we find that a sizable decline in mortgage payments (up to 50 percent) induces a significant increase in car purchases (up to 35 percent). This effect is attenuated by voluntary deleveraging. Borrowers with lower incomes and housing wealth have significantly higher marginal propensity to consume. Areas with a larger share of ARMs were more responsive to lower interest rates and saw a relative decline in defaults and an increase in house prices, car purchases, and employment. Household balance sheets and mortgage contract rigidity are important for monetary policy pass-through.

Graph and download economic data for 10-Year Real Interest Rate (REAINTRATREARAT10Y) from Jan 1982 to Jul 2025 about 10-year, interest rate, interest, real, rate, and USA.

The benchmark interest rate in China was last recorded at 3 percent. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - China Interest Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Mortgage credit interest rate, percent in the USA, June, 2025 The most recent value is 6.33 percent as of June 2025, a decline compared to the previous value of 6.46 percent. Historically, the average for the USA from August 1991 to June 2025 is 5.56 percent. The minimum of 2.42 percent was recorded in December 2020, while the maximum of 9.01 percent was reached in November 1994. | TheGlobalEconomy.com

Mortgage interest rates in Europe soared in 2022 and remained elevated in the following two years. In many countries, this resulted in interest rates more than doubling. In the UK, the average mortgage interest rate rose from **** percent in 2020 to **** percent in 2023, before falling to **** in 2024. Why did mortgage interest rates increase? Mortgage rates have risen as a result of the European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate increase. The ECB increased its interest rates to tackle inflation. As inflation calms, the ECB is expected to cut rates, which allows mortgage lenders to reduce mortgage interest rates. What is the impact of interest rates on home buying? Lower interest rates make taking out a housing loan more affordable, and thus, encourage homebuying. That can be seen in many countries across Europe: In France, the number of residential properties sold rose in the years leading up to 2021, and fell as interest rates increased. The number of houses sold in the UK followed a similar trend.

Car loan interest rates in the United States decreased since mid-2024. Thus, the period of rapidly rising interest rates, when they increased from 3.85 percent in December 2021 to 7.91 percent in February 2024, has come to an end. The Federal Reserve interest rate is one of the main causes of the interest rates of loans rising or falling. If inflation stays under control, the Federal Reserve will start cutting the interest rates, which would have the effect of the cost of car loans falling too. How many cars have financing in the United States? Car financing exists because not everyone who wants or needs a car can purchase it outright. A financial institution will then lend the money to the customer for purchasing the car, which must then be repaid with interest. Most new vehicles in the United States in 2024 were purchased using car loans. It is not as common to use car loans for purchasing used vehicles as for new ones, although over a third of used vehicles were purchased using loans. The car industry in the United States The car financing business is huge in the United States, due to the high sales of both new and used vehicles in the country. A lot of the United States is very car-centric, which means that, outside large cities, it can often be difficult to do their daily commutes through other transportation methods. In fact, only a small percentage of U.S. workers used public transport to go to work. That is one of the factors that has helped establish the importance of the automotive sector in North America. Nevertheless, there are still countries in Asia-Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe with higher car-ownership rates than the United States.

In 2022, Portugal overturned the sinking mortgage interest rate it had gone through during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The country did not escape from the overall trend of falling mortgage interest rates observed in Europe during the COVID-19 crisis, which positioned national mortgage interest rates at **** percent in the fourth quarter of 2021. Interest rates as a weapon against inflation Even though interest rates are affected by economic growth, monetary policies, the bond market, the stability of lenders, and the overall conditions of the housing market, inflation currently leads the European Central Bank (ECB)’s decisions regarding them. As inflation had been low in Europe since the 2008 financial crisis, the ECB lowered interest rates in an attempt to promote economic growth. However, the economic difficulties brought up by the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war have fueled inflation. To counteract this rise, the ECB increased interest rates. Portugal’s abrupt rise in interest rates on new residential loans from **** percent in 2021 to **** percent in 2023 demonstrates the balanced and calculated act between the two financial indices. High interest rates and low mortgage lending Compared to other European nations, Portugal has a low gross residential mortgage lending. In the third and fourth quarters of 2022, mortgage lending decreased in the country due to rising interest rates and worsening economic conditions, but have increased dramatically until 2024. Despite being in a rising trajectory in terms of outstanding residential mortgage lending since the second quarter of 2021, 2023 registered decreasing figures caused by the same economic contingencies. 2024 shows a different trend, however.

Tonga: Interest rates on bank credit to the private sector: The latest value from 2023 is 7.74 percent, a decline from 7.86 percent in 2022. In comparison, the world average is 14.19 percent, based on data from 83 countries. Historically, the average for Tonga from 2012 to 2023 is 8.27 percent. The minimum value, 7.74 percent, was reached in 2023 while the maximum of 9.93 percent was recorded in 2012.

Rising within-country differences in house values are a much debated trend inthe U.S. and internationally. Using new long-run regional data for 15 advancedeconomies, we first show that standard explanations linking growing price dispersionto rent dispersion are contradicted by an important stylized fact: rent dispersionhas increased far less than price dispersion. We then propose a new explanation: auniform decline in real risk-free interest rates can have heterogeneous spatial effectson house values. Falling real safe rates disproportionately push up prices in largeagglomerations where initial rent-price ratios are low, leading to housing marketpolarization on the national level.

The benchmark interest rate in Germany was last recorded at 4.50 percent. This dataset provides - Germany Interest Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Venezuela: Real interest rate: Bank lending rate minus inflation: The latest value from 2014 is -16.54 percent, a decline from -14.47 percent in 2013. In comparison, the world average is 7.30 percent, based on data from 135 countries. Historically, the average for Venezuela from 1984 to 2014 is -4.35 percent. The minimum value, -35.31 percent, was reached in 1996 while the maximum of 23.1 percent was recorded in 1998.

Colombia: Bank lending-deposit interest rate spread : The latest value from 2020 is 6.47 interest rate points, a decline from 7.27 interest rate points in 2019. In comparison, the world average is 6.59 interest rate points, based on data from 93 countries. Historically, the average for Colombia from 1986 to 2020 is 7.99 interest rate points. The minimum value, 5.72 interest rate points, was reached in 2010 while the maximum of 10.44 interest rate points was recorded in 1994.

The benchmark interest rate In the Euro Area was last recorded at 2.15 percent. This dataset provides - Euro Area Interest Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Over the current period, waterproofing contractors have faced an overall decline in revenue. While the residential construction market performed well for some of the current period, consistently slow commercial construction activity hindered growth. Over the past five years, industry-wide revenue has been declining at an expected CAGR of 2.2%, reaching an estimated $5.2 billion in 2024, when revenue is set to increase 0.1% and profit is expected to have fallen to 7.2%. The outbreak of COVID-19 had mixed effects on waterproofing contractors. Low interest rates meant to spur the economy led to a housing market boom, driving industry demand through private spending on home improvements and housing starts. Despite low interest rates, economic uncertainty and falling corporate profit led to falling commercial construction activity. As interest rates have been elevated from 2022 into 2024, when the Federal reserve has begun to cut rates, residential and commercial construction activity has fallen. Elevated wage and purchase costs have drove down average industry profit margins in recent years. Over the outlook period, waterproofing contractors will return to growth. Growing housing starts will bolster waterproofing contractors' growth as mortgage rates eventually drop. Private spending on home improvements returning to growth will be a boon to contractors. An uptick in commercial building construction activity over the outlook period as interest rates continue to drop will also promote growth. Tax incentives for energy-efficient residential and commercial buildings will greatly benefit waterproofing contractors. Overall, industry revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of 1.6% to reach $5.6 in 2029.

Lending interest rate of Panama decreased by 0.42% from 6.94 % in 2021 to 6.91 % in 2022. Since the 3.01% rise in 2019, lending interest rate fell by 2.57% in 2022. Lending interest rate is the rate charged by banks on loans to prime customers.

The benchmark interest rate in Brazil was last recorded at 15 percent. This dataset provides - Brazil Interest Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Lending interest rate of Guatemala increased by 3.62% from 11.96 % in 2023 to 12.40 % in 2024. Since the 2.17% fall in 2022, lending interest rate rose by 3.96% in 2024. Lending interest rate is the rate charged by banks on loans to prime customers.

Prospective American homebuyers expected that mortgage rates would decline, according to a nationally representative survey conducted in August 2024. The youngest generation (18 to 34-year-olds) was the only age group that still expected a rise in interest rates in the next 12 months. People aged 45 to 64 were most optimistic, with the share of respondents expecting a decrease outweighing the share expecting a hike by 27 percent.