Where to find today's interest rate changes

Interest rates change throughout the day, and the source you check determines what you see. The Federal Reserve sets the benchmark rate that banks use, but that rate itself moves only when the Fed's policy committee meets — roughly eight times a year. What moves daily are the rates that banks and credit unions actually offer you: savings account rates, CD rates, money market rates, and mortgage rates.

To see whether rates went down today, check the website of the institution where you have money or where you are thinking of moving it. Banks and credit unions update their posted rates on their own schedule, sometimes multiple times per day, sometimes once daily at market close. A rate that was 4.50% yesterday might be 4.45% today, or it might stay the same for weeks.

If you want to track the broader market, the Wall Street Journal, Bankrate, and DepositAccounts.com all publish daily snapshots of what major banks are offering. These sites show you the national average and the highest rates available, updated daily or multiple times daily depending on the site.

Key Takeaways

  • Individual banks set their own rates and change them on their own schedule, so the rate at your bank may have moved while rates elsewhere stayed flat.
  • The Federal Reserve's benchmark rate changes only when the policy committee meets, roughly eight times per year, not daily.
  • Bankrate, DepositAccounts.com, and the Wall Street Journal publish daily rate snapshots showing what banks are currently offering.
  • A rate drop at one bank does not mean rates dropped everywhere — compare your current institution to others before deciding whether to move money.

Why rates move on different schedules

Banks do not have to match each other's rates. When the Fed raises or lowers its benchmark rate, banks eventually adjust what they pay depositors and charge borrowers, but the timing and size of that adjustment is up to each institution. A large national bank might drop its savings rate by 0.25% within a day of a Fed move. A credit union might wait a week. A smaller regional bank might drop it by only 0.15%.

This is why checking only your current bank's website is not enough if you want to know whether rates actually went down in the market. Your bank's rate may have dropped while competitors raised theirs, or vice versa. The only way to know whether today's move was good or bad for your money is to compare.

What the Federal Reserve rate means for your savings

The Fed's benchmark rate — officially called the federal funds rate — is the interest rate at which banks lend to each other overnight. It is not the rate you earn on a savings account. However, banks use the Fed rate as a reference point when they set the rates they offer to customers. When the Fed raises its rate, banks have more incentive to pay higher rates on deposits because they can charge more on loans. When the Fed cuts its rate, banks have less incentive to compete for deposits, so rates on savings accounts and CDs often fall.

The Fed meets eight times per year on a set schedule. You can find those dates on the Federal Reserve's website. Between meetings, the Fed rate stays the same unless an emergency move happens (which is rare). So if today is not a Fed meeting day, the Fed rate did not change today, even if your bank's rates did.

How to track rate changes over time

If you want to know whether rates are trending up or down, not just whether they moved today, keep a simple record. Write down the rate your bank or credit union is offering on the product you care about — a savings account, a one-year CD, a money market account — once a week on the same day. After four weeks, you will see the direction.

You can also set up rate alerts on Bankrate or DepositAccounts.com. These sites let you enter your target rate and get notified when banks in your area hit that threshold. This is useful if you are waiting for rates to climb back up before you lock in a CD, or if you want to move money as soon as a particular rate becomes available.

When a rate drop matters for your money

A rate drop at your current bank matters only if you have not yet locked in a rate. If you have money in a savings account, the rate can change at any time and your bank can lower it without your permission. If you have a CD, the rate is locked for the term — a drop in the bank's advertised rate does not affect what you earn.

If your bank's savings rate dropped today and you have a large balance sitting there, it may be time to move the money to a bank offering a higher rate. The difference between 4.50% and 4.00% on $10,000 is $50 per year. On $100,000 it is $500 per year. That is real money, and it takes only a few minutes to open an account at a bank with a better rate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can interest rates change multiple times in one day?

Yes. Banks can change their posted rates whenever they want, and some do it multiple times per day. If you are shopping for a rate, check the bank's website directly rather than relying on a rate comparison site that may not have updated in the last few hours.

If the Fed didn't meet today, did rates definitely not change?

The Fed rate did not change, but bank rates can change any day regardless of Fed meetings. Banks adjust their rates based on their own funding costs, competition, and business strategy, not just Fed moves. Check your bank's website to see what it is currently offering.

Should I move my money if my bank's rate dropped?

Compare your bank's new rate to what other banks are offering. If you can earn 0.25% more elsewhere, moving may be worth it. If the difference is 0.05%, the hassle of opening a new account may not be worth the extra few dollars per year.

How do I know if a rate drop is temporary or permanent?

You cannot know for certain. Banks sometimes lower rates temporarily to reduce deposit inflows, then raise them again. The only way to track the pattern is to check rates weekly over several weeks and see whether they stabilize or keep moving in one direction.

What if my bank's rate went down but I'm in a CD?

Your CD rate is locked and will not change. The bank's new advertised rate applies only to new CDs opened from now on. Your existing CD earns the rate you locked in when you opened it, for the full term.