Global Overview
All tracked central banks, side by side.
Over the past 3 months: 3 hiked, 1 cut, and 4 held steady across the 8 banks tracked here.
The situation, AI-generated and grounded in the real numbers above and the sources below
Reading recent coverage…
Fed
3.75%
0bp
As of 2026-08-04
ECB
2.25%
+25bp · 1 move
As of 2026-08-05
BoE
3.75%
0bp
As of 2026-08-03
BoJ
0.841%
+11bp · 1 move
As of 2026-06-01
PBoC
1.51%
-20bp · 4 moves
As of 2026-05-01
SNB
-0.25%
0bp · 3 moves
As of 2026-07-01
RBA
4.35%
+4bp · 2 moves
As of 2026-07-31
BoC
2.25%
0bp
As of 2026-08-03
Real coverage from the past 3 months
- India central bank to stay on hold even as peers pivot to rate hikes
Reuters · 2026-08-03
- Central banks for the world's major economies meet to set rates this month
marketplace.org · 2026-06-02
- Week Ahead for FX, Bonds: Fed, BOE Among Slew of Central Bank Decisions
wsj.com · 2026-06-12
- Amid wartime disruptions, most emerging-market central banks will follow the Fed
Peterson Institute for International Economics · 2026-04-23
Central Bank Room
Federal Reserve
United States
Rates
3.75%
Federal funds target rate (upper bound)
As of 2026-08-04
Daily
Resolution
-25bp
Last move
2025-12-11
Rate decisions
2025-12-11
3.75% (-25bp)
quarter-point cut — moves like this are typically used to support a slowing economy by making borrowing and spending cheaper.
2025-10-30
4% (-25bp)
quarter-point cut — moves like this are typically used to support a slowing economy by making borrowing and spending cheaper.
2025-09-18
4.25% (-25bp)
quarter-point cut — moves like this are typically used to support a slowing economy by making borrowing and spending cheaper.
The one-line note next to each move is a general description of what that type of decision typically does — not this bank's own stated reason for that specific move. "Explain more" generates a short AI summary grounded only in the real, dated news articles listed as sources beneath it (never the bank's official statement, and it may say there isn't enough coverage to explain confidently).
Monetary & budgetary policy, explained
What a policy rate does
A policy rate (like the one Federal Reserve sets) is the interest rate a central bank charges or pays on very short-term lending to commercial banks. Every other interest rate in the economy — mortgages, savings accounts, business loans, credit cards — is priced off that base rate, so moving it is the main lever a central bank has to influence the whole economy.
Hikes vs. cuts
Raising the rate ("hiking") makes borrowing more expensive and saving more attractive, which tends to slow spending and investment — used to cool inflation or an overheating economy. Cutting the rate does the opposite: cheaper borrowing encourages spending and investment, used to support a slowing economy or fight deflation/unemployment. Changes typically take months to fully feed through — this is often called the "transmission mechanism."
Monetary policy vs. budgetary (fiscal) policy
Monetary policy — interest rates and money supply — is set by the central bank, which is deliberately kept independent from elected government in most major economies. Budgetary (fiscal) policy — government spending and taxation — is set by the government itself. The two can reinforce each other (both loosening at once to boost growth) or work against each other (a government spending more while its central bank raises rates to fight the inflation that spending causes) — watching both together usually explains the economy better than either alone.
What tends to move when the rate moves
Currency: higher rates often attract foreign capital seeking yield, which can strengthen the currency (and vice versa). Bonds: bond prices generally move opposite to rate expectations. Equities: higher rates raise the discount rate used to value future company earnings, which tends to weigh on stock valuations, especially for growth companies. None of this is guaranteed or immediate — it's the general direction markets expect, not a formula.
Markets & the economy
United States's stock market next to the policy rate — pick a period.
Left axis: policy rate (%). Right axis: S&P 500. The two lines are shown side by side for comparison — no correlation is implied; judge for yourself.
The situation over the past year — AI-generated, grounded in the real index move and sources below
Reading recent coverage…
Real coverage from the past year
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In the news
- Fed Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged, Despite Three Votes for an Increase
The New York Times · 2026-07-29
- Gold Advances as Traders Weigh Fed Rate Path After Latest Hold
Bloomberg.com · 2026-07-29
- Will the Federal Reserve raise interest rates? Here is what experts predict for July's meeting.
CBS News · 2026-07-29
- Fed holds interest rates steady after cliffhanger meeting, but three officials dissent
CNN · 2026-07-29
- The Fed holds interest rates for a fifth consecutive meeting, underscoring inflation fears
NBC News · 2026-07-29
- 'No magic wand' to tackle high prices, Fed boss says as US interest rates held
BBC · 2026-07-29
Commentary
No commentary on Fed yet — check back soon.