Central Bank Interest Rates

What a policy rate is, and what it is not

A central bank's policy rate is an interest rate set by a central bank; the price of overnight money within a central bank's system; and a benchmark for just about every other interest rate in the same currency, such as mortgage interest rates, commercial loan interest rates, interest rates on bonds, savings interest rates. Therefore when the Reserve Bank of Australia keeps its rate at 4.35% and the European Central Bank has a rate of 2.25%, this difference in price for borrowing money (the spread) can be one of the most significant factors driving exchange rates between their respective currencies. All else being equal, capital flows into the currency with the higher interest rate.

What a policy rate is not is a market rate. It is a target or an administered level, not something that trades. The rates you actually pay or receive sit above or below it by a spread that reflects credit risk, term and your provider's margin. The policy rate tells you the direction and the floor; it does not quote your mortgage.

Reading the moves

Each bank moves in steps, usually 0.25 percentage points at a scheduled meeting, occasionally more in a crisis. The history line on each card is a step function for that reason: rates hold flat for weeks or months, then jump on a decision day. What matters for markets is rarely the level in isolation but the path, whether a bank is mid-hiking, mid-cutting, or on a prolonged hold, and how its path diverges from its peers. Two banks both at 3.75% mean very different things if one just cut from 5% and the other is climbing from 3%.

Decisions fall on fixed schedules. The economic calendar contains the FOMC date; while the next-FOMC page measures down to the U.S. event only. To show how expected-rate difference is beginning to appear in the bond market, the yield curve tracker provides a read of the Treasury market's forecast for where the Fed will go; and the currency strength meter displays the actual currency pricing as a result of these interest rate differences.

Which banks are shown, and why only these

We show a central bank's rate only where that bank's own data licensing permits us to redistribute it. The Federal Reserve's data is in the public domain; the ECB, Bank of England (under the UK Open Government Licence), Bank of Canada and Reserve Bank of Australia each grant reuse with attribution. Several other banks publish their rates under non-commercial or unclear terms, so we do not display them rather than risk a licence we cannot honour. Each rate above links to its official source so you can verify the current level directly.