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Images by Adobe Stock; illustration by Bankrate September 02, 2022 Libby Wells covers banking and deposit products. She has more than 30 years’ experience as a writer and editor for newspapers, magazines and online publications. Brian Beers is the managing editor for the Wealth team at Bankrate. He oversees editorial coverage of banking, investing, the economy and all things money. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
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You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. Nearly 40 years ago, certificates of deposit were considered . The average annual percentage yield (APY) on a was over 11 percent. And while rates have been climbing steadily this year, they have a long way to go to hit the double digit returns of yesteryear. The average has an APY of 0.52 percent, Bankrate’s July 27, 2022 rate survey data shows. The Federal Reserve has been aggressively raising its benchmark interest rate in an effort to curb inflation, which is at a 40-year high of 9.1 percent on an annual basis. The bad news for savers is that even though CD rates are rising, causes to lose value. Average CD rates 1984-2022
Average CD yields have fallen markedly since the 1980s. With raging inflation, it’s no surprise that . The central bank has raised rates four times this year, including two consecutive bumps of 75 basis points. “Inflation has been at a four-decade high, so the Fed must fight it with full force,” says Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate chief financial analyst. “But it is easy to talk tough about raising rates when interest rates and the unemployment rate are low. “Does the Fed have the fortitude to continue to do what is necessary to bring down inflation, even if they see the economy tipping into recession? That is the bridge the Fed will have to cross in the next six to 12 months.” Here’s a look at the historical ups and downs of CD rates and some background on rate fluctuations through the decades. now to grow your savings. CD rates in the 1980s
Average CD rates 1984-1989
CD rates in the 1980s reached record highs. Savers had access to double-digit yields as inflation soared. The U.S. faced two recessions in the early 1980s. That’s when CD yields peaked. On average, in early May 1981 paid about 18.3 percent APY, according to data from the St. Louis Federal Reserve. The reason interest rates were so high in the 1980s was due to high inflation. With inflation, the cost of goods and services rises and your money doesn’t buy as much. And so, while savers enjoyed higher rates on their certificates of deposit, their spending power took a hit. “Interest rates were significantly higher in the early 1980s as the Federal Reserve, led by Paul Volcker, used high rates to corral double-digit inflation,” McBride says. Find out these days. CD rates in the 1990s
Average CD rates 1990-1999
CD rates fell in the 1990s and inflation was much lower than it was in the previous decade. Following another short recession in the early 1990s, conditions improved and inflation fell. Overall, the decade was marked by a solid economy. “CD yields dropped in the early 1990s following a recession and on the heels of the Fed’s efforts a decade earlier to break inflation,” McBride says. “Yields stabilized in the second half of the decade amid a sustained economic expansion.” In June 1993, rates started to look normal again, with the average one-year CD yield sinking to 3.1 percent APY, Bankrate survey data shows. Find out how today’s rates on CDs and stack up. CD rates in the 2000s
Average CD rates 2000-2009
CD rates declined in the early 2000s. Interest rates were reduced to help jump-start the economy following the stock market bubble. In early 2000, after the dot-com boom began to lose steam, the economy started to slow and the Fed lowered interest rates to stimulate the economy. The average yield on one-year CDs fell below 2 percent APY in 2002, Bankrate data shows. In 2009, following the global financial crisis, the average one-year CD paid less than 1 percent APY. Average rates on were only slightly higher – about 2.2 percent APY. Other rates fell, too, as the central bank slashed its benchmark interest rate. “This decade was bookended by recessions, both of which brought about record-low interest rates for their time,” McBride says. “In the middle was a housing boom and 17 interest rate hikes by the Fed that produced a camel-back look to the trend in CD yields.” CD rates from 2010 to 2020
Average CD rates 2010-2019
After the global financial crisis, CD rates fell to their lowest point in U.S. history. Toward the end of the decade, rates began rising, but fell again in 2019. The Federal Reserve’s efforts to stimulate the economy following the Great Recession of 2007-2009 left many banks flush with cash, so they didn’t need to boost rates on to obtain money for lending. CD yields reached historic lows. In June 2013, average yields on one-year and five-year CDs were 0.24 percent APY and 0.78 percent APY, respectively, according to Bankrate data. “CD yields continued to fall in the years following the Great Recession as the Federal Reserve kept benchmark interest rates at near zero amid a sluggish economic recovery,” McBride says. As the Fed gradually increased its benchmark interest rate between December 2015 and 2018, . “The Fed raised interest rates nine times between 2015 and 2018 before beginning a reversal of course in the second half of 2019 in an effort to sustain what by then was a record-long economic expansion,” McBride says. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020, causing a worldwide economic earthquake. “When COVID-19 shook global economies, the Fed quickly brought benchmark rates to near-zero levels to provide fuel for a recovery,” explains McBride. CD rates since 2020
Average CD rates 2020-2022
As the COVID pandemic emerged in early 2020, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates and CD rates dipped to very low levels. Now, CD rates are moving up again. In March 2020, the Fed made a couple of emergency rate cuts as a result of the economic lockdowns brought on by the COVID-19 . Here’s how CD rates fell in the year after those emergency rate cuts of 2020 were made: From June 2020 to June 2021, the average one-year CD dropped to 0.17 percent APY from 0.4 percent APY. From June 2020 to June 2021, the average five-year CD fell to 0.31 percent APY from 0.58 percent APY. “CD yields fell to new record lows when interest rates were slashed to near-zero levels in the early stages of the pandemic,” says McBride. Average CD rates have shot up since June 2021. Bankrate’s July 27, 2022, rates survey data shows: The average one-year CD yield is 0.52 percent APY, three times higher than it was 13 months ago. The average five-year CD yield has more than doubled from 13 months ago, to 0.67 percent APY. While big increases in CD yields are encouraging to savers, high inflation tempers their enthusiasm. “With the Federal Reserve aggressively raising interest rates to combat inflation, that will mean continued improvement in yields in the weeks and months ahead,” says McBride. “But savers really need to see inflation come down in a big way for the higher CD yields to shine.” SHARE: Libby Wells covers banking and deposit products. She has more than 30 years’ experience as a writer and editor for newspapers, magazines and online publications. Brian Beers is the managing editor for the Wealth team at Bankrate. He oversees editorial coverage of banking, investing, the economy and all things money. Related Articles