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 is the federal funds rate?
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The federal funds rate averaged 3.88% a year in October 2026, down from 4.09% in October 2025. It is the rate banks charge each other for overnight loans, which the Federal Reserve steers to speed up or slow down the economy. It peaked at 19.1% in June 1981 and was near zero from December 2008 to 2015 and from April 2020 to March 2022. The series begins in July 1954.
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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