Today’s mortgage, Treasury & savings rates

What these rates are — and why they matter

Almost every big money decision is priced off a handful of benchmark rates, and this board puts them in one place. The mortgage rates are the national average for new 30- and 15-year fixed loans — the starting point for what a home will cost you each month. Treasury yields are what the US government pays to borrow over different periods, and they set the floor for safe returns on your cash. The Fed funds rate is the Federal Reserve’s policy lever that ripples through everything else, and the I-Bond rate is what an inflation-protected savings bond earns right now. Watch them together and you can see the whole cost-of-money picture at a glance.

How mortgage rates are actually set

A common myth is that the Fed sets mortgage rates. It doesn’t — at least not directly. Fixed mortgage rates track the 10-year Treasury yield most closely, plus a margin lenders add for risk and profit. That’s why you’ll sometimes see mortgage rates fall in a week the Fed never met: the bond market moved on its own read of inflation and growth. The Fed funds rate still matters, because it shapes the entire environment those bonds trade in, but the tighter link is to Treasuries. Seeing both on this board explains moves that otherwise look random.

Reading the Treasury yield curve

The three Treasury tiles — bills, notes and bonds — are the same borrower (the US government) at different maturities, and together they form the yield curve. Short-dated bills move with the Fed’s rate; longer bonds reflect long-run inflation and growth expectations. Normally longer means higher, but when short yields rise above long ones — an “inverted” curve — it has historically signaled that investors expect slower growth ahead. You don’t need to trade bonds to use this: T-bill yields are the benchmark your high-yield savings and money-market returns are measured against.

Turn a rate into a real number

A rate on its own is abstract; what matters is the payment or the return it produces. When today’s 30-year rate looks workable, drop it into the mortgage calculator to see the full monthly payment, or the affordability calculator to find the price it supports. If you already own, the refinance calculator shows whether today’s rate beats your current one after closing costs. And when Treasury and I-Bond yields are attractive, where to park cash compares them against a savings account over your timeline.

Rates, inflation and your savings

Rates and inflation move together, and both quietly decide whether your money grows in real terms. When inflation runs hot, the Fed tends to push rates up, which lifts savings and Treasury yields but also mortgage and loan costs. I-Bonds are the one place that adjusts to inflation automatically. To see how rising prices erode idle cash even when headline rates look healthy, pair this board with the inflation calculator. This page is for general information and is not financial advice.