A certificate of deposit (CD) has long been considered a safe place to store cash. But for years, CD interest rates hadn’t exactly been impressive. How things have changed.
Interest rates have shot up across the board. Now, the best CD rates hover around 5% APY for terms ranging from six months to a year—and many savers are wondering whether those rates will continue to rise.
Knowing what rates may do in the future can help you decide the best CD investment strategy today. So, if you’re considering putting your money in CDs, find out where rates are headed to find the best CD term for your financial goals.
What causes CD rates to go up or down?
CD rates are generally affected by changes to the Federal funds rate, also known as the Fed’s benchmark rate. The Fed funds rate is the interest rate that commercial banks charge one another to borrow money overnight, as banks must maintain a reserve of cash equal to a percentage of their deposits at all times (known as a reserve requirement).
The Federal Open Market Committee (FMOC), made up of 12 Federal Reserve members, meets eight times per year to review the economy’s current state and make monetary policy decisions. Those decisions may include raising rates, often in response to rising inflation. And when the Fed raises its target rate, banks typically follow suit and increase their interest rates—including those on CDs.
That’s because when the Fed’s target rate goes up, the cost of borrowing from other banks increases. Banks may raise their interest rates on loans to cover higher costs and maintain profitability. To fund these loans, they often need to attract more customers and grow their deposit base, which they do by increasing the rates they offer on deposits, such as savings accounts and CDs.
CDs are ideal deposit products for banks to manage their cash reserves because they have a fixed maturity date and aren’t easily liquidated like checking or money market accounts, according to Gregory Garcia, executive vice president and chief operating officer of First Commerce Bank. “Locking in deposits helps banks manage their cash flow expectations, and they are willing to pay higher rates to reduce cash flow uncertainty,” he says.
In addition to moves by the Fed, many banks have raised CD rates to offset competition from higher rates paid by money market mutual funds and U.S. Treasurys, says Anthony Chan, an economist and public speaker. He adds that rising CD rates have also been exacerbated by concerns that some banks are less safe due to undiversified loan portfolios and high proportions of uninsured deposits or depositors inclined to withdraw money. “Banks were forced to raise rates to avoid an evaporation of deposits,” Chan says.
Finally, CD rates may also increase when the economy grows and demand for credit increases. When credit applications increase, rate increases across the board often follow across the board as banks compete for deposits to fund their lending activities
Conversely, CD rates tend to fall when the Fed lowers its target rate or the economy slows, as the demand for and cost of borrowing money decreases.
CD rates from 2010 to 2023
CD rates have been relatively flat for the past decade; interest rates were at historic lows because of Fed rate cuts following the Great Recession.
At the end of 2010, the average 12-month CD rate was just 0.53%. By 2012, it had fallen to 0.23% and remained around that level through 2017.
When the pandemic hit in early 2020, rates fell to rock bottom. By the end of 2020, the average 12-month CD rate was just 0.16%.However, things changed in mid-2022 when the Fed began increasing rates to combat rising inflation.
Today, the average 12-month CD rate is 1.76%, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). However, many banks currently offer rates of 4%–5% or more, especially for terms under two years.
Will CD rates continue to rise?
Throughout its recent battle against rising inflation, the Fed has raised rates 11 times—most recently to a target range of 5.25% to 5.50%. Fed chairman Jerome Powell has also hinted that additional rate hikes may be coming since inflation still isn’t retreating as economists would like.
So, you can likely expect rates to tick up a bit more. “Rates on core bank deposits will only stop rising when the Fed begins to reverse course and start lowering interest rates, and the current fear in some regional banks begins to ease,” says Chan.
How to make the most of today’s CD rates
Whether CD rates increase or decrease, you can still use today’s rates to maximize your savings.
- Stick with shorter terms: Garcia notes that we’ve experienced a prolonged inverted yield-curve environment, meaning short-term rates are higher than long-term ones. So, short-term CDs (e.g., no longer than two years) will yield the best. Plus, predicting what CD rates will look like in the next few years is impossible, so avoiding locking in your money for too long is a good idea. Sticking with terms of six to 18 months will let you take advantage of today’s high rates but allow you to move your money elsewhere (without paying early withdrawal penalties) if rates fall.
- Build a CD ladder: Alternatively, you can consider putting your money in a CD ladder, which allows you to take advantage of long-term CD rates while maintaining some liquidity in the short term. “A prudent CD investor may want to ladder their investments across multiple terms so that market timing doesn’t significantly impact their repricing investment upon maturity,” Garcia says.
- Hedge your savings: Deposit rates are up across the board. So, depending on your financial goals and cash flow needs, you might also want to place some cash in similar low-risk investments, such as a high-yield savings account or T-bill, just to ensure you have your bases covered in case CD rates change dramatically.
The takeaway
If you’re looking for a safe place to store your savings—and earn a competitive rate so your money can grow faster—it’s hard to beat a CD. Interest rates are the highest in about a decade and will likely stay elevated if the Fed feels the need to continue reining in inflation.
However, even though we can make educated guesses about how CD rates will move in the future, it’s impossible to predict exactly what will happen. Therefore, sticking with shorter CD terms of one year or less is a good idea so you can quickly pivot if rates change. Alternatively, you can create a CD ladder to take advantage of the highest rates available when your CDs mature.
Also, remember that you must keep your money on deposit until maturity to enjoy the full benefits of a CD. If you withdraw funds early, you’ll likely face an early withdrawal penalty, which can wipe out interest earnings. Therefore, if you think you might need to access your cash early, it’s probably wise to skip a CD and opt for a high-yield savings account instead.
