This graph show how interest rates hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve affect gold's price. While gold underperforms during the period leading up to rate hikes, its performance improves during the year after the interest rates increase.

The benchmark interest rate in the United States was last recorded at 3.75 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.

In 2026, the federal funds effective rate continued its downward adjustment as the Federal Reserve advanced its policy easing cycle. After the beginning of 2025 at **** percent following a January rate cut, the rate remained unchanged until September 2025, when it was reduced to **** percent. Additional easing followed late in the year, with the rate lowered to **** percent in November and further reduced to **** percent in December, reflecting a sustained shift toward accommodative monetary policy. This phase of rate reductions followed a prolonged period of elevated interest rates that began after the COVID-19 pandemic. In early 2020, the federal funds effective rate was sharply reduced in response to the economic shock caused by the pandemic, falling from **** percent in February 2020 to **** percent in March and reaching **** percent by April. These emergency cuts, combined with the quantitative easing program, were designed to stabilize financial markets and support economic activity. The rate remained near zero for nearly two years before the Federal Reserve initiated a tightening cycle in early 2022, raising the rate from **** percent in April 2022 to a peak of **** percent in August 2023. After holding rates steady for more than a year, the Federal Reserve began reversing course in September 2024, cutting the rate to **** percent, followed by a further reduction to **** percent in December 2024, marking the start of a broader policy pivot that continued through 2025 and into 2026, reaching **** percent in February 2026. 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 Interest rate adjustments following the COVID-19 pandemic reflected a largely coordinated global response. In early 2020, central banks worldwide adopted aggressive monetary easing to counter the economic shock, with the Federal Reserve cutting the federal funds rate from **** percent in February to **** percent by April, in line with actions taken globally. After rates remained near zero through 2021, rising inflation triggered a synchronized tightening cycle beginning in 2022. As inflation moderated, central banks - including the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, and the European Central Bank - began cutting rates in mid-2024. This shift toward easing broadened in 2025, with interest rates reduced in most countries.

Dataset Overview

A comprehensive monthly record of central bank policy interest rates for 49 central banks spanning January 1945 to February 2026, sourced directly from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) official statistical API.

Covers major central banks including the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, People's Bank of China, and 44 others across Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.

Each record includes the official policy rate, derived rate change in basis points, rate cycle classification (Hiking / Cutting / Holding High / Holding Low), rate regime label (Negative / Near Zero / Accommodative / Neutral / Restrictive / Very Restrictive), cumulative change since January 2022, spread vs the US Federal Reserve, 3 and 12-month rolling averages, all-time high/low flags, crisis period flags (GFC, COVID, 2022–23 Hiking Cycle), and historical era labels spanning the Bretton Woods Era through the current Rate Cutting Cycle.

24,454 records. 100% completeness across all critical fields. All math independently verified — rate changes, cumulative BPS, rolling averages, and spread calculations confirmed correct.

Data Science Applications

• Time series forecasting: predict rate decisions using rolling averages, cycle phase, and spread vs Fed
• Clustering: group central banks by rate behaviour patterns across decades
• Event study analysis: measure rate response to GFC, COVID, and the 2022-23 inflation shock
• Correlation analysis: cross-country rate synchronisation and divergence during hiking and cutting cycles
• Regime detection: classify monetary policy stance using rate_regime and rate_cycle features
• EDA: 80 years of global monetary policy across 7 world regions

COLUMN DESCRIPTORS

date — First day of month (ISO YYYY-MM-DD) time_period — Month string (YYYY-MM) year / month / month_name — Date components quarter — Q1–Q4 decade — Decade label (e.g. 1970s) era — Historical monetary policy era country_code — ISO 2-letter country code country_name — Full country name central_bank — Official central bank name region — World region (7 categories) continent — Continent capital — Country capital city population — Country population (2024) currency — Official currency name and code policy_rate_pct — Official policy rate (% per annum) rate_change_bps — MoM rate change in basis points rate_change_direction — Hike / Cut / Hold / First Record rate_cycle — Hiking / Cutting / Holding High / Holding Low / Holding rate_regime — Negative Rate / Near Zero / Accommodative / Neutral / Restrictive / Very Restrictive / Emergency High cumulative_change_since_2022_bps — Cumulative rate change since Jan 2022 (bps) rate_jan2022_base — Policy rate as of January 2022 (baseline) rate_3m_avg — 3-month rolling average rate rate_12m_avg — 12-month rolling average rate rate_12m_max — 12-month rolling maximum rate rate_12m_min — 12-month rolling minimum rate is_all_time_high — 1 if rate is a new all-time high is_all_time_low — 1 if rate is a new all-time low spread_vs_fed_bps — Rate spread vs US Federal Reserve (bps) fed_rate — US Federal Reserve rate at same date gfc_period — 1 if date falls in GFC (2008-2009) covid_period — 1 if date falls in COVID era (2020-2021) hike_cycle_2022_23 — 1 if date falls in global hiking cycle rate_description — BIS rate description for this series rate_notes — BIS compilation methodology notes source_institution — Central bank and BIS as data source data_source — BIS WS_CBPOL v1 retrieved_date — Date data was retrieved build_timestamp — Full build timestamp row_completeness_pct — % of critical fields populated

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Bank for International Settlements (BIS) — Central Bank Policy Rates WS_CBPOL Dataset, BIS Statistical API v1 https://stats.bis.org

REST Countries API — country metadata https://restcountries.com

All BIS data is publicly available under open access terms.

Despite a large and rapid increase in the policy rate since March 2022, economic activity has remained resilient. We argue that private-lending spreads—the difference between the policy rate and rates private-sector borrowers pay—are surprisingly low and a major factor for why rate hikes have not slowed the economy more. If spreads are as insensitive to rate cuts as they are to rate hikes, then they may dampen the effect of expansionary monetary policy.

The benchmark interest rate in Brazil was last recorded at 14.75 percent. This dataset provides - Brazil Interest Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The U.S. federal funds rate reached its peak in 2023, climbing to **** percent by December - its highest level since the 2007-08 financial crisis - following an aggressive tightening cycle aimed at curbing elevated inflation. A clear shift in monetary policy emerged in the second half of 2024, when the Federal Reserve began implementing a series of rate cuts as inflationary pressures eased and economic growth moderated. By December 2024, the federal funds rate had declined to **** percent. This easing cycle continued into 2025, with additional rate reductions throughout the year, bringing the rate below **** percent by year-end and signaling a sustained move toward a more accommodative policy stance. 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. Historical 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.

The benchmark interest rate in Australia was last recorded at 4.10 percent. This dataset provides - Australia Interest Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The benchmark interest rate in Canada was last recorded at 2.25 percent. This dataset provides - Canada Interest Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Overview with Chart & Report: Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee Vote Hike is published two weeks after the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee meeting, together with the interest rate decision. The Committee

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.

The yield on US 30 Year Bond Yield eased to 4.95% on March 30, 2026, marking a 0.02 percentage points decrease from the previous session. Over the past month, the yield has edged up by 0.27 points and is 0.34 points higher than a year ago, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity. United States 30 Year Bond Yield - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on March of 2026.

This market will resolve to “Yes” if the upper bound of the target federal funds rate is increased at any point between January 1, 2026 and the Fed's December 2026 meeting, currently scheduled for December 8-9, 2026. Otherwise, this market will resolve to “No”.

This market may not resolve to "No" u

The benchmark interest rate in India was last recorded at 5.25 percent. This dataset provides - India Interest Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The benchmark interest rate in Turkey was last recorded at 37 percent. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Turkey Interest Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

The U.S. bank prime loan rate has undergone considerable fluctuations over the past three decades, reflecting broader economic trends and monetary policy decisions. From a high of **** percent in 1990, the rate has seen periods of decline, stability, and recent increases. As of February 2026, the prime rate stood at **** percent, marking a notable decline from the historic highs seen in the early 2020s. Federal Reserve's impact on lending rates The prime rate's trajectory closely mirrors changes in the federal funds rate, which serves as a key benchmark for the U.S. financial system. In 2023, the Federal Reserve implemented a series of rate hikes, pushing the federal funds target range to ******** percent by year-end. This was followed by several rate cuts in 2024 and 2025, with the fed funds rate standing at 3.72 percent in December 2025. The aggressive monetary tightening in 2023 was aimed at combating rising inflation, and its effects rippled through various lending rates, including the prime rate. Long-term investment outlook While short-term rates have risen, long-term investment yields have also seen changes. The 10-year U.S. Treasury bond, a benchmark for long-term interest rates, showed an average market yield of **** percent in the second quarter of 2024, adjusted for constant maturity and inflation. This figure represents a recovery from negative real returns seen in 2021, reflecting shifting expectations for economic growth and inflation. The evolving yield environment has implications for both borrowers and investors, influencing decisions across the financial landscape.

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.

Banks with declining net interest margins during the 2022–23 tightening cycle were more reliant on capital market funding.

Vietnam Natural Increase Rate data was reported at 8.100 ‰ in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 9.200 ‰ for 2016. Vietnam Natural Increase Rate data is updated yearly, averaging 10.800 ‰ from Dec 2001 (Median) to 2017, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13.800 ‰ in 2004 and a record low of 8.100 ‰ in 2017. Vietnam Natural Increase Rate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by General Statistics Office. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Vietnam – Table VN.G058: Vital Statistics.

View daily updates and historical trends for Target Federal Funds Rate Upper Limit. from United States. Source: Federal Reserve. Track economic data with …