Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (US)  

Release: H.15 Selected Interest Rates  

Units:  Percent, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:  Monthly

Averages of daily figures.

For additional historical federal funds rate data, please see Daily Federal Funds Rate from 1928-1954.

The federal funds rate is the interest rate at which depository institutions trade federal funds (balances held at Federal Reserve Banks) with each other overnight. When a depository institution has surplus balances in its reserve account, it lends to other banks in need of larger balances. In simpler terms, a bank with excess cash, which is often referred to as liquidity, will lend to another bank that needs to quickly raise liquidity. (1) The rate that the borrowing institution pays to the lending institution is determined between the two banks; the weighted average rate for all of these types of negotiations is called the effective federal funds rate.(2) The effective federal funds rate is essentially determined by the market but is influenced by the Federal Reserve as it uses the Interest on Reserve Balances rate to steer the federal funds rate toward the target range.(2)

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets eight times a year to determine the federal funds target range. The Fed's primary tool for influencing the federal funds rate is the interest the Fed pays on the funds that banks hold as reserve balances at their Federal Reserve Bank, which is the Interest on Reserves Balances (IORB) rate. Because banks are unlikely to lend funds in the federal funds market for less than they get paid in their reserve balance account at the Federal Reserve, the Interest on Reserve Balances (IORB) is an effective tool for guiding the federal funds rate. (3) Whether the Federal Reserve raises or lowers the target range for the federal funds rate depends on the state of the economy. If the FOMC believes the economy is growing too fast and inflation pressures are inconsistent with the dual mandate of the Federal Reserve, the Committee may temper economic activity by raising the target range for federal funds rate, and increasing the IORB rate to steer the federal funds rate into the target range. In the opposing scenario, the FOMC may spur greater economic activity by lowering the target range for federal funds rate, and decreasing the IORB rate to steer the federal funds rate into the target range. (3) Therefore, the FOMC must observe the current state of the economy to determine the best course of monetary policy that will maximize economic growth while adhering to the dual mandate set forth by Congress. In making its monetary policy decisions, the FOMC considers a wealth of economic data, such as: trends in prices and wages, employment, consumer spending and income, business investments, and foreign exchange markets.

The federal funds rate is the central interest rate in the U.S. financial market. It influences other interest rates such as the prime rate, which is the rate banks charge their customers with higher credit ratings. Additionally, the federal funds rate indirectly influences longer- term interest rates such as mortgages, loans, and savings, all of which are very important to consumer wealth and confidence.(2)

References
(1) Federal Reserve Bank of New York. "Federal funds." Fedpoints, August 2007.
(2) Monetary Policy, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
(3) The Fed Explained, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

For further information, see The Fed's New Monetary Policy Tools, Page One Economics, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

For questions on the data, please contact the data source. For questions on FRED functionality, please contact us here.

Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (US)  

Release: FOMC Press Release  

Units:  Percent, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:  Daily, 7-Day

This series represents upper limit of the federal funds target range established by the Federal Open Market Committee. The data updated each day is the data effective as of that day.

Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (US)  

Release: FOMC Press Release  

Units:  Percent, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:  Daily, 7-Day

This series represents lower limit of the federal funds target range established by the Federal Open Market Committee. The data updated each day is the data effective as of that day.

Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (US)  

Release: FOMC Press Release  

Units:  Percent, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:  Daily, 7-Day

Data for the period prior to 1994 come from the working paper "A New Federal Funds Rate Target Series: September 27, 1982 - December 31, 1993" (Thornton, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 2005, http://research.stlouisfed.org/wp/2005/2005-032.pdf). Due to an error in the paper values from April 2, 1986 - April 20, 1986 were adjusted manually to 7.3125%. Data from 1994 to the present are derived from FOMC meeting transcripts and FOMC meeting statements, http://www.federalreserve.gov/fomc/.

Effective December 16, 2008, target rate is reported as a range. Current data at https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DFEDTARU and https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DFEDTARL

Source: International Monetary Fund  

Release: International Financial Statistics  

Units:  Percent per Annum, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:  Monthly

Notes regarding this series can be found in International Financial Statistics Yearbooks produced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). We have requested these publications from the IMF. Notes on this series will populate once they become available.

Copyright © 2016, International Monetary Fund. Reprinted with permission. Complete terms of use and contact details are available from the IMF.

Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (US)  

Release: Interest Rate on Reserve Balances  

Units:  Percent, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:  Daily, 7-Day

Starting July 29, 2021, the interest rate on excess reserves (IOER) and the interest rate on required reserves (IORR) were replaced with a single rate, the interest rate on reserve balances (IORB). See the source's announcement for more details.

The interest rate on excess reserves (IOER rate) is determined by the Board of Governors and gives the Federal Reserve an additional tool to conduct monetary policy.

See Policy Tools for more information.

For questions on FRED functionality, please contact us here.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York  

Release: Temporary Open Market Operations  

Units:  Percent, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:  Daily

The award rate is the rate given to all accepted propositions for the collateral type reported by the New York Fed as part of the Temporary Open Market Operations.

Temporary open market operations involve short-term repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements that are designed to temporarily add or drain reserves available to the banking system and influence day-to-day trading in the federal funds market.

A reverse repurchase agreement (known as reverse repo or RRP) is a transaction in which the New York Fed under the authorization and direction of the Federal Open Market Committee sells a security to an eligible counterparty with an agreement to repurchase that same security at a specified price at a specific time in the future. For these transactions, eligible securities are U.S. Treasury instruments.

See FAQs for more information.

Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (US)  

Release: Interest Rate on Reserve Balances  

Units:  Percent, Not Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:  Daily, 7-Day

Starting July 29, 2021, the interest rate on excess reserves (IOER) and the interest rate on required reserves (IORR) were replaced with a single rate, the interest rate on reserve balances (IORB). See the source's announcement for more details.

The interest rate on reserve balances (IORB rate) is the rate of interest that the Federal Reserve pays on balances maintained by or on behalf of eligible institutions in master accounts at Federal Reserve Banks. The interest rate is set by the Board of Governors, and it is an important tool of monetary policy.

See Policy Tools and the IORB FAQs for more information.

For questions on FRED functionality, please contact us here.