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 2-year Treasury note pay?
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.
The 2-year Treasury rate averaged 4.74% a year in October 2026, up from 3.52% in October 2025. It tends to follow where investors expect the Federal Reserve to set short-term rates over the next two years. It peaked at 16.46% in September 1981 and hit a low of 0.12% in February 2021. The series begins in June 1976.
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
Open the chart and its numbersTeachers: make your own chart assignment, or change this one. Free, no account needed.