Top CDs Today: Lock in a 6% Rate for 12 to 17 Months, or 5.80% for 18 Months (2024)

How High Will CD Rates Go This Year?

The Federal Reserve has been aggressively combating decades-high inflation since March of last year, raising the federal funds rate with fast and furious hikes in 2022 and then more moderate increases in 2023. With its most recent hike on July 26, the Fed has implemented 11 increases in 13 meetings, for a cumulative increase of 5.25%. This has created favorable rate conditions for CD shoppers, as well as for anyone holding cash in ahigh-yield savingsormoney market account.

The Fed's next two-day meeting will conclude Nov. 1, and financial markets overwhelmingly expect the Fed to hold interest rates steady again. One possibility is that that this hold will turn out to be permanent, as several Fed members have signaled in recent weeks that they feel the committee's rate-hike campaign has reached its end, with another Fed member echoing that sentiment last Monday.

But in comments made last week, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated the central bank's commitment to bringing inflation back down to its target of 2%, signaling that the door is still open to a future rate increase. Powell said that the latest inflation rate of 3.5% is still too high and that the committee would therefore be taking a cautious approach, carefully monitoring new economic data as it becomes available.

As a result, the CME Group's FedWatch Tool shows that markets are currently pricing in roughly 25-35% odds that one more hike will be announced at the Fed's December or January meeting.

As we always caution, it's unwise to rely too heavily on Fed rate predictions several weeks or months down the road, since the economic landscape can change quickly—and alter the Fed's course along with it. So while rates may seem to be stabilizing right now, only time will tell whether a future rate hike is still on the horizon. And that, in turn, will determine whether CD rates have reached their peak or may still inch a bit higher.

Rate Collection Methodology Disclosure

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying certificates in every major term. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the CD's minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000.

Banks must be available in at least 40 states. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don't meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don't live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, read our full methodology.

Correction—Nov. 15, 2023: This article has been corrected to remove a CD that was originally offered nationwide, but then became geographically restricted, thereby no longer meeting our criteria for inclusion. This article was updated to state that the nationwide high for CD rates at the time of publication on Oct. 24 was 6.00% APY.