The Federal Reserve left interest rates where they were on October 28, 2026, six weeks after raising them. Its Federal Open Market Committee kept the target range for the federal funds rate at 3.75% to 4.00% by a 10 to 2 vote, and both dissenters wanted a quarter-point increase. Below are the statement's changes, Treasury's daily bill rates on either side of the decision, and how far September's hike had reached savings accounts, CDs and money market funds as of November 2, 2026. The mechanics linking Fed policy to bill yields are explained in how Fed rate decisions affect T-bill rates, and the US Treasuries hub covers the securities themselves.
What did the Fed decide on October 28, 2026?
The Committee held the target range at 3.75% to 4.00% and left every rate it administers unchanged, effective October 29.
The statement came out at 2:00 p.m. Eastern and passed 10 to 2. Lisa D. Cook and Beth M. Hammack voted against it, preferring to raise the range by a quarter point at this meeting. The implementation note kept interest on reserve balances at 3.90%, the overnight reverse repo rate at 3.75%, and both the standing repo rate and the discount window's primary credit rate at 4.00%. It also directs the New York Fed to buy Treasury bills when needed to keep bank reserves ample and to reinvest maturing agency securities into bills, so the Fed remains a regular buyer in the bill market.
Most of the statement carried over word for word from September 16. These passages changed:
| Passage | September 16, 2026 | October 28, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Decision | Raised the range by 1/4 point to 3-3/4 to 4 percent | Kept the range at 3-3/4 to 4 percent |
| Vote | 12 to 0 | 10 to 2; Cook and Hammack wanted a 1/4-point hike |
| Growth | "Expanding at a solid pace" | "Expanding at a strong pace" |
| Next steps | The hike "will support a timelier return" to the 2 percent goal | "The accumulation of more information will help" set the policy stance |
The lines saying inflation "remains elevated", job gains have kept pace with the workforce and the unemployment rate has changed little were repeated unchanged. The Committee described a stronger economy and still chose to wait.
The pause came after a year in which pressure built in both directions. The range sat at 3.50% to 3.75% from the December 2025 cut until September, with officials dissenting in favor of cuts in January, March and April and in favor of a hike in July. The September 16 increase, approved unanimously, was the first since July 2023.
How did T-bill yields move around the decision?
Bill yields drifted lower after the hold, and the longer the bill, the larger the drop.
Treasury's daily bill rates are market quotes taken at about 3:30 p.m., so the October 28 readings already reflect the 2:00 p.m. statement. The table shows investment yields, Treasury's coupon-equivalent column, for the most recently auctioned bill of each term. October 14 is included because the September CPI report came out that morning, showing prices up 3.7% over 12 months, and the 13-, 17- and 26-week bills reached their highest October readings that day.
| Bill | Oct 14 | Oct 27 | Oct 28 | Oct 30 | Change, Oct 27 to 30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-week | 4.00% | 4.00% | 3.97% | 3.98% | −0.02 |
| 6-week | 4.05% | 4.02% | 4.01% | 3.98% | −0.04 |
| 8-week | 4.06% | 4.09% | 4.08% | 4.08% | −0.01 |
| 13-week | 4.20% | 4.15% | 4.11% | 4.08% | −0.07 |
| 17-week | 4.30% | 4.23% | 4.23% | 4.18% | −0.05 |
| 26-week | 4.38% | 4.36% | 4.33% | 4.25% | −0.11 |
| 52-week | 4.50% | 4.51% | 4.47% | 4.36% | −0.15 |
The decision-day move was small, 0.04 point or less at every term, a sign the hold was widely expected. The larger drop came over the next two sessions and was concentrated in bills that mature well after the December 8–9 meeting. A 4-week bill bought at the end of October matures around December 1, before that meeting, and barely moved; the 52-week bill, which matures about a year out, fell 0.15 point. That is the pattern of a market trimming the odds of further increases, though bills also respond to economic data and to Treasury's borrowing, so not all of the move belongs to the Fed.
Worked example: What two days of drift meant for a 52-week bill buyer
Treasury quotes bills by bank discount rate, and the price follows from it: for a 52-week bill, price = face value × (1 − rate × 364 ÷ 360).
- October 27: a discount rate of 4.30% priced $10,000 of face value at about $9,565.22, so the bill paid $434.78 of interest at maturity.
- October 30: a discount rate of 4.17% priced the same bill at about $9,578.37, paying $421.63.
- The difference is about $13 per $10,000 of face value, or about $66 on $50,000 held for the year.
Auction prices differ slightly from these market quotes. The Treasury bill calculator turns any discount rate into a price and yield.
Where do T-bill rates stand now?
The table below refreshes from Treasury's daily bill rates, so its newest column will be later than the October quotes above.
| Term | Discount rate | Investment yield | Price per $1,000 | Yield vs a month ago | Yield vs a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-week | 3.91% | 3.98% | $996.96 | +0.07 pts | 0.00 pts |
| 6-week | 3.91% | 3.98% | $995.44 | -0.04 pts | +0.04 pts |
| 8-week | 4.00% | 4.08% | $993.78 | +0.02 pts | +0.11 pts |
| 13-week | 3.99% | 4.08% | $989.91 | -0.05 pts | +0.23 pts |
| 17-week | 4.07% | 4.18% | $986.55 | -0.05 pts | +0.31 pts |
| 26-week | 4.11% | 4.25% | $979.22 | -0.09 pts | +0.43 pts |
| 52-week | 4.17% | 4.36% | $957.84 | -0.18 pts | +0.66 pts |
Set against the readings a month earlier, the latest column shows whether the post-meeting drift held or reversed. What each term pays at auction, and how the quotes are built, is covered in T-bill rates today.
How far had September's hike reached savings accounts and money funds?
Money market funds had passed on most of the quarter-point increase within two weeks, while bank deposit averages had barely moved.
The October hold gave banks and funds nothing new to pass along, so what matters for savers is how much of the September 16 increase has already arrived. The table compares readings from August 31, before the hike, with the latest published figure for each rate. The FDIC's national rates are deposit-weighted averages across banks and credit unions, and the SEC's money fund yields are asset-weighted month-end figures from the funds' Form N-MFP filings.
| Rate | Aug 31, 2026 | Latest reading | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effective fed funds rate | 3.63% | 3.88% on Oct 29 | +0.25 |
| 13-week T-bill, investment yield | 3.87% | 4.08% on Oct 30 | +0.21 |
| 52-week T-bill, investment yield | 4.14% | 4.36% on Oct 30 | +0.22 |
| Government money market funds, 7-day net yield | 3.53% | 3.71% on Sept 30 | +0.18 |
| National savings rate | 0.37% | 0.38% on Sept 30 | +0.01 |
| National money market deposit account rate | 0.63% | 0.63% on Sept 30 | 0.00 |
| National 12-month CD rate | 1.73% | 1.76% on Sept 30 | +0.03 |
| National 60-month CD rate | 1.38% | 1.41% on Sept 30 | +0.03 |
Official deposit and fund figures for the weeks after October 28 are not out yet. The FDIC publishes its next national rates on November 16, based on October 30 data, and the SEC had not released its money fund statistics for October as of November 2, 2026.
Worked example: What the hike added to a $25,000 balance
These are simple annual interest figures at each dated rate, as an illustration; none of these rates is fixed for a year.
- Average savings account: 0.37% to 0.38% is $92.50 to $95.00 a year, or $2.50 more.
- Government money market fund: 3.53% to 3.71% is $882.50 to $927.50, or $45 more.
- 13-week bills rolled for a year: 3.87% to 4.08% is $967.50 to $1,020, or $52.50 more, before compounding.
The hike itself was worth roughly $45 to $52 a year on this balance outside a bank. The gap that existed before it was far larger: at September 30 rates, the money fund paid $832.50 a year more than the average savings account.
Because the FDIC weights each institution by its deposits, the national figures mostly reflect the largest banks, and many online savings accounts pay well above them. How high-yield savings accounts work explains how banks set those rates, and T-bills vs high-yield savings compares them after state tax.
What does the hold mean for CD rates?
Existing CDs keep their rate to maturity, and new CD rates follow market yields for similar terms more than the Fed's overnight rate.
The FDIC averages show how little CDs followed September's move. The 12-month average rose 0.03 point in the month to September 30, while the 52-week bill rose 0.40 point, from 4.14% to 4.54%. Shorter and middle terms were mixed: the 6-month average slipped from 1.41% to 1.39% and the 24-month from 1.61% to 1.55%. After the October hold, the market yields that CD pricing competes with eased, with the 26-week bill falling from 4.36% to 4.25% between October 27 and October 30.
Two differences matter when a CD is compared with a bill of the same term. CD interest is subject to state and local income tax where those apply, while T-bill interest is exempt from both. Breaking a CD early usually costs a penalty, while a bill can be sold before maturity at its market price, which may be below what was paid. T-bills vs CDs works through both, and a CD ladder spreads deposits across terms so they do not all renew at once.
What does it mean for money market funds?
Fund yields follow overnight repo and short bill rates within weeks, and the hold left those rates where September put them.
Government money funds hold mainly Treasury bills and repurchase agreements backed by Treasuries. In the SEC's figures their asset-weighted average maturity was 34.3 days on September 30, so a typical portfolio turns over in about a month, and their 7-day yield that day was 3.92% before fees and 3.71% after. Overnight repo paid 3.94% on October 29, as measured by SOFR, and the Fed's reverse repo facility, where funds can lend to the Fed directly, paid 3.75%. With neither rate changed by the October decision, what remains for fund yields is the tail of September's increase working through portfolios.
Money market fund assets totaled $7.90 trillion in the week ended October 28, 2026, according to the Investment Company Institute. Unlike a bank deposit, a money fund is not FDIC-insured, and the yield it quotes is after expenses that vary by fund. T-bills vs money market funds compares owning bills directly with owning a fund, and how money market funds work explains the SEC rules behind them.
How does this hike and hold compare with past cycles?
Over a longer stretch, September's quarter-point increase and October's pause are a small step after the cuts of 2024 and 2025.
| Measure | Yield | Month |
|---|---|---|
| Latest monthly average | 4.23% | Oct 2026 |
| A year earlier | 3.98% | Oct 2025 |
| Average over the last 10 years | 2.55% | |
| Average since 2000 | 2.00% | |
| Highest month | 6.36% | Nov 2000 |
| Lowest month | 0.01% | Dec 2011 |
The chart tracks the monthly average 3-month Treasury yield, the bill series that follows the Fed's range most closely. Set beside the 2022 to 2023 climb or the cuts that began in September 2024, this year's single increase barely registers. Month-end rates for each bill term this year, with the auctions and Fed meetings behind them, are in T-bill yields in 2026 so far, and what moves Treasury yields explains why longer maturities answer to more than the Fed.
What happens before the December 8–9 meeting?
Two jobs reports and one inflation report arrive before the Committee meets again on December 8 and 9.
| Date | Release |
|---|---|
| Friday, November 6 | October jobs report, Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Tuesday, November 10 | October consumer price index |
| Monday, November 16 | FDIC national deposit rates, October 30 data |
| Wednesday, November 18 | Minutes of the October 27–28 meeting |
| Friday, December 4 | November jobs report |
| Wednesday, December 9 | Fed statement at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, with new economic projections |
| Thursday, December 10 | November consumer price index |
In September's projections, 16 of the 18 officials who submitted a rate path put the range higher by the end of 2026, 12 of them by one more quarter point and 4 by two; the median was 4.1%, up from 3.8% in June. Projections are not commitments, and the October statement's emphasis on gathering more information leaves the December decision open. The current target range, updated after each meeting, is 3.75% to 4.00% (Federal Reserve Board, as of Oct 28, 2026).
What are the risks of reacting to a single Fed meeting?
The main risks are reading a trend into one decision, locking in a rate at the wrong moment, and comparing figures that are not measured the same way.
- One meeting is not a trend. Officials dissented in favor of cuts at three meetings this year and in favor of hikes at two, while the Committee itself moved once. A plan that needs the next move to be known in advance rests on a guess.
- Fixed terms cut both ways. A 52-week bill or a 12-month CD keeps its rate if yields fall, and keeps it if they rise. A bill sold early can fetch less than its purchase price, as selling Treasuries before maturity explains, and a CD usually charges a penalty.
- Unlike figures. Money fund yields are 7-day figures after fees that change daily, the FDIC's numbers are averages, CDs and savings accounts quote an annual percentage yield, and bill yields depend on the convention used. Differences of a few hundredths can come from the method rather than the product.
- Different protection. Bank deposits are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category; money market funds are not insured; Treasury bills are backed by the full faith and credit of the US government.
- Inflation. Consumer prices rose 3.7% in the 12 months to September, so an account paying the 0.38% national average lost purchasing power, and bill yields near 4% kept only a thin margin above inflation before tax.