CD Rates at Banks August 30, 2010

CD rates at banks were little changed for the week ending August 27, 2010 though the bias was slightly towards the downside. Among the most popular bank CD maturities which includes the 3 month CD rates, 6 month CD rates and 2 year CD rates, two of the terms were unchanged while the other two terms went in diverging directions.

The average rate for CD rate at banks with a 3 month maturity held steady at 0.85% based on the most recent survey of the best bank CD rates performed by Selcectcdrates.com. The average rate on the best 6 month term CDs managed to squeak out an increase in yield, rising from an average rate of 1.17% last week to 1.18% in the most recent week.

The average rate from the top ten best bank CD rates followed the 3 month term CDs and also remained unchanged for the week with a yield at 1.49%. The two year bank CDs, which gets far less attention than the shorter term CDs in the new market of low interest rates, shed two basis points or 2/100’s of a percent for the week, closing at 1.85% from 1.87% in the previous week.

While CD rates were mostly indifferent for the week, midterm Treasury rates spiked at the close of the week. And while midterm Treasury rates rose, shorter term Treasury rates were relatively stable. The six month Treasury bill started the week at 0.19% and ended with that same yield. The one year Treasury opened with a 0.26% interest rate and close out Friday just one basis point higher at 0.27%. The two year Treasury experienced the greatest change in yield, moving from 0.49% at the close of August 20 and moving up to 0.56% on the close August 27. The five year gained two basis points while the ten year Treasury rate increased by four basis points.

As bad as the yields on CD rates at banks currently look, Treasury rates are in an entirely separate league of abysmally low rates of return. The best six month bank CD rate has held at 1.25% for the past two weeks while a six month Treasury rate returns just 0.19%. The best one year CD rate is 30 basis points higher at 1.55% and the one year Treasury is returning just 0.27%. An investor has to go out to a term of 5 years or greater to obtain an interest rate in excess of 1.00% on U.S Treasuries. In the meantime, iGObanking continues to run a promotional offer on their 3 month CD with an interest rate of 1.35% with a minimum deposit of just $1,000.00.

High rates of return are still available, even in this market. The key to obtaining the best CD rates is to shop among the top national CD rates and comparing these rates to those available in the local banking market.

Tags: 3 month CD rates, 6 month CD rates, bank CD rates, bank CDs, best bank CD rates, best CD rates, best one year CD rate, CD Rates At Banks, National CD Rates, one year CD rate, treasury rates

This entry was posted on Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 6:34 pm and is filed under Money Rates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.