Symmetric --
The base interest rate to which you refer is the central bank?s
?discount rate?, defined as ?the interest rate charged to commercial
banks and other depository institutions on loans they receive from
their regional Federal Reserve Bank's lending facility.?
The rate is set by the Federal Reserve?s board of governors and is
closely watched by markets, as it is a prime way for the bank to
manage inflation.
The Federal Reserve bank has a website set up just to track discount
rates. The rate generally discussed is the ?primary credit? rate for
banks to use when borrowing overnight from the Federal Reserve bank.
Federal Reserve Bank Discount Window
?Historical Discount Rates?
http://www.frbdiscountwindow.org/historicalrates.cfm?hdrID=20&dtlID
Rates for the past two years have been:
June 29, 2006: 6.25%
May 10, 2006: 6.00%
Mar. 28, 2006: 5.75%
Jan. 31, 2006: 5.50%
Dec. 13, 2005: 5.25%
Nov. 1, 2005: 5.00%
Sept. 20, 2005: 4.75%
Aug. 9, 2005: 4.50%
June 30, 2005: 4.25%
May 3, 2005: 4.00%
Mar. 22, 2005: 3.75%
Dec. 14, 2004: 3.25%
Nov. 10, 2004: 3.00%
Sept. 21, 2004: 2.75%
Aug. 10, 2004: 2.5%
June 30, 2004: 2.25%
June 25, 2004: 2.00%
Jan. 9, 2003: 2.25%
You may also find the Federal Reserve historical summaries of a wide
variety of interest rates useful, as it includes a wide range of
rates, from Treasury bills to corporate bonds:
Federal Reserve Statistical Release
?Selected Interest Rates?
http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h15/data.htm#fn1
---
For Japan, the discount rate has been more stable, at 0.10% since
September 19, 2001 until July 14, 2006, when it was raised to 0.40%.
Bank of Japan
?The Basic Discount Rate?
http://www.boj.or.jp/en/type/stat/boj_stat/discount.htm
---
For Australia, the Reserve Bank of Australia has this history for its
discount rate:
Nov. 5, 2003: 5.00%
Dec. 3, 2003: 5.25%
Mar. 2, 2005: 5.50%
May 3, 2006: 5.75%
Aug. 2, 2006: 6.00%
Nov. 8, 2006: 6.25%
Reserve Bank of Australia
?Monetary Policy Changes?
http://www.rba.gov.au/Statistics/Bulletin/A02hist.xls
---
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand refers to the discount rate as the
?official cash rate?. These have been the major changes:
Dec. 8, 2005: 7.25%
Oct. 27, 2005: 7.00%
March 10, 2005: 6.75%
Oct. 28, 2004: 6.50%
Sept. 9. 2004: 6.25%
July 29, 2004: 6.00%
June 10, 2004: 5.75%
April 29, 2004: 5.50%
---
The European Central Bank uses its ?main refinancing rate? or ?minimum
bid rate? as the discount rate for overnight loans. This is the
equivalent to the discount rate used by other central banks.
The ?minimum bid rate? has stood at the following levels:
Oct. 11, 2006: 3.25%
Aug. 9, 2006: 3.00%
June 15, 2006: 2.75%
Mar. 8, 2006: 2.50%
Dec. 13, 2005: 2.25%
June 6, 2003: 2.00%
Mar. 7, 2003: 2.50%
European Central Bank
?Key ECB interest rates?
http://www.ecb.eu/stats/monetary/rates/html/index.en.html
---
The Bank of England?s ?official bank rate? has been:
Nov. 9, 2006: 5.00%
Aug. 3, 2006: 4.75%
Aug. 4, 2005: 4.50%
Aug. 5, 2004: 4.75%
June 10, 2004: 4.50%
May 6, 2004: 4.25%
Feb. 5, 2004: 4.00%
Nov. 6, 2003: 3.75%
Bank of England
?Official Bank Rate History?
http://213.225.136.206/mfsd/iadb/Repo.asp?Travel=NIxIRx
--
For a good backgrounder on central banks see this Wikipedia article.
It contains links to many of the central bank operations worldwide, as
well as definitions of interest rate terms, which vary slightly from
country to country:
Wikipedia
?Central Bank? (Nov. 11, 2006)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_bank
Google search strategy:
Federal Reserve historical discount rate
Japan ?discount rate?
ECB "central bank" discount rate
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA |
Clarification of Answer by
omnivorous-ga
on
27 Nov 2006 03:16 PST
Symmetric --
These primary credit overnight rates are indeed typically above the
Federal Open Market Committee's target rate or ?federal funds? target
rate. The federal funds rate is the interest rate at which depository
institutions lend balances (federal funds) at the Federal Reserve to
other banks, wile the "primary credit rates" are bank-to-bank. You'll
see a close tie in every economy.
Here are the U.S. funds rates:
2006
--------
June 29: 5.25%
May 10: 5.00
March 28: 4.75
January 31: 4.50
2005
--------
December 13: 4.25%
November 1: 4.00
September 20: 3.75
August 9: 3.50
June 30: 3.25
May 3: 3.00
March 22: 2.75
February 2: 2.50
2004
--------
December 14: 2.25%
November 10: 2.00
September 21: 1.75
August 10: 1.50
June 30: 1.25
Federal Reserve Bank
?Intended federal funds rate?
http://www.federalreserve.gov/fomc/fundsrate.htm
===
JAPAN
For the Bank of Japan, the rate that you?re seeking is the ?overnight
call rate? for deposits. It had been unchanged at 0% for six years as
part of a fight against deflationary pressures in Japan. However, on
July 14, 2006 it was changed to 0.25%.
The decisions by the Bank of Japan are summarized here, though you?ll
note most monthly meetings end with ?unchanged? rates:
Bank of Japan
?Monetary Policy Meetings?
http://www.boj.or.jp/en/theme/seisaku/kettei/index.htm
===
AUSTRALIA
For Australia, the comparable figure is the ?interbank overnight cash
market?. Again, you?ll see that they?re slightly lower than the
discount rate mentioned earlier:
2004
--------
Jan. 9: 5.25%
2005
--------
Mar. 5: 5.49%
April 1: 5.50
2006
--------
May 25: 5.73%
June 4: 5.75
Aug. 25: 5.99
Sept. 8: 6.00
===
NEW ZEALAND
The New Zealand numbers above are the ?official cash rate? set by the
Reserve Bank of New Zealand. The central bank pays commercial banks
0.25% less than this amount ? and charges 0.25% more for deposits but
it is the basis for interbank loans.
Dec. 8, 2005: 7.25%
Oct. 27, 2005: 7.00%
March 10, 2005: 6.75%
Oct. 28, 2004: 6.50%
Sept. 9. 2004: 6.25%
July 29, 2004: 6.00%
June 10, 2004: 5.75%
April 29, 2004: 5.50%
Reserve Bank of New Zealand
?Official Cash Rate?
http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/monpol/statements/0090630.html
===
EURO ZONE
For the European Central Bank, the rate that is used by banks with the
central bank is the ?deposit facility?. Again, these will track
interbank rates but generally be 1% (100 basis points) lower:
Oct. 11, 2006: 2.25%
Aug. 9, 2006: 2.00%
June 15, 2006: 1.75%
Mar. 8, 2006: 1.50%
Dec. 13, 2005: 1.25%
June 6, 2003: 1.00%
Mar. 7, 2003: 1.50%
European Central Bank
?Key ECB interest rates?
http://www.ecb.eu/stats/monetary/rates/html/index.en.html
===
UNITED KINGDOM
The official bank rate is the rate paid by the central bank to
commercial financial institutions within the U.K., so the same numbers
apply here:
Nov. 9, 2006: 5.00%
Aug. 3, 2006: 4.75%
Aug. 4, 2005: 4.50%
Aug. 5, 2004: 4.75%
June 10, 2004: 4.50%
May 6, 2004: 4.25%
Feb. 5, 2004: 4.00%
Nov. 6, 2003: 3.75%
Bank of England
?Official Bank Rate History?
http://213.225.136.206/mfsd/iadb/Repo.asp?Travel=NIxIRx
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA
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