Chart assignment
Charts to read and discuss
Read each chart, then answer its questions. Every chart shows its source and date; open it for a table of the numbers and the data to download.
Chart 1 of 1 · Interest rates
What interest rate does a 10-year Treasury note pay?
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.
The 10-year Treasury rate averaged 5.13% a year in October 2026, up from 4.06% in October 2025. Mortgage rates and other long-term loan rates tend to move with it. It peaked at 15.32% in September 1981 and fell to a low of 0.62% in July 2020. The series begins in April 1953.
Questions to discuss
- In one sentence of your own, what does this chart show?
- Find the biggest change or difference in the chart. What might explain it?
- Who collected these numbers, and how recent are they? What else would you want to know before drawing a conclusion?
Source: Federal Reserve Board, H.15 Selected Interest Rates (monthly averages) (Public domain (Federal Reserve Board; cite the Board as the source)) · Data as of Oct 31, 2026
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