The Federal Reserve is expected to hold its benchmark interest rate steady on Wednesday, despite ongoing pressure from President Trump to slash rates further.
That means the borrowing costs on many consumer loans, from home equity to credit cards, should remain stable for a while longer, while yields on savings accounts are less likely to see further reductions, which will benefit households sitting with cash.
The Federal Reserve’s job is to keep prices under control and workers employed. With inflation still lingering above the central bank’s targets, along with a somewhat stable job market, the Fed has appeared reluctant to decrease rates further, particularly following three quarter-point cuts last year.
“The timing of further rate cuts in 2026 will depend on whether recent progress in lowering inflation continues,” said Charlie Wise, senior vice president of research and consulting at TransUnion, a big consumer credit company, “as well as the ongoing health of the employment situation.”
The conversation around rates has been overshadowed by the escalation of Mr. Trump’s ongoing crusade to exert stronger influence at the Fed — and the significant threat it poses to the central bank’s independence. Most recently, the Trump administration opened a criminal investigation into Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair he nominated in 2017, over renovation costs to the Fed’s headquarters. The investigation was denounced by lawmakers and former Fed chairs, from both parties, as an overstep of the president’s authority.
The Fed’s key rate, known as the federal funds rate, now stands in a range of 3.5 to 3.75 percent, and serves as a benchmark for rates on various loans and other financial instruments across the economy.
Here’s a look at where various rates stand now.
Credit Cards
Cardholders carrying balances have seen the rates they pay on their debt decline in recent months, but not enough to meaningfully affect their monthly budgets. (When the Fed cuts rates, card issuers are generally slower to act and changes could take a couple of billing cycles.)
Last week, the average interest rate on credit cards was 19.62 percent, according to Bankrate, which tracks more than 100 popular new card offerings by the largest 50 banks. That’s down from a record high of 20.79 percent in August 2024.
Mr. Trump recently called for a one-year cap limiting credit card rates to 10 percent, but that would almost certainly require Congress to pass legislation. Though capping rates has received some bipartisan support from lawmakers, Republican leaders have shown little interest in taking up the issue.
Mortgages
Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages don’t move in tandem with the Fed’s benchmark rates; instead, they generally track with the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds, which is influenced by a variety of factors, including the Fed’s actions, expectations about inflation and general investor sentiment.
There’s another factor that could nudge rates lower. Mr. Trump has ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two quasi-governmental entities that guarantee or purchase many mortgages, to start buying up to $200 billion in bonds backed by the home loans. If Fannie and Freddie became a buyer of these mortgage-backed securities, it could push up the prices of the bonds — and reduce mortgage rates a bit. (Bond prices move inversely to rates.)
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.09 percent as of Jan. 22, according to Freddie Mac, down from 6.96 percent a year ago.
Other home loans are more closely tethered to the central bank’s decisions. Home-equity lines of credit and adjustable-rate mortgages, which carry variable interest rates, generally adjust within two billing cycles after a change in the Fed’s rates.
Auto Loans
Higher car prices, combined with elevated loan rates, continue to strain affordability for many Americans, while many lower-income households are struggling to make payments on the auto loans they already hold. But affluent buyers have continued purchasing, while many “price-sensitive shoppers were pushed to the sidelines,” said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds.
Car loans tend to track the yield on the five-year Treasury note, which is influenced by the Fed’s rate moves. But other factors determine how much borrowers actually pay, including credit history, the type of vehicle, the loan term and the down payment. Lenders also consider the levels of borrowers becoming delinquent on auto loans. As those move higher, so do rates, which makes qualifying for a loan more difficult, particularly for people with lower credit scores.
The average rate on new car loans was 6.5 percent in December, according to Edmunds, a car shopping website, down slightly from 7 percent over the summer and 6.6 percent in December 2024.
Rates for used cars were higher: The average loan carried a 10.5 percent rate in December, down just slightly from 10.8 percent in December 2024.
Savings Accounts
Everything from online savings accounts and certificates of deposit to money market funds tend to move in line with the Fed’s policy changes. That means rates on high-yield savings accounts have recently trended lower, but they still pay far more than rates for traditional savings accounts, which remain anemic.
The national average savings account rate was recently 0.61 percent, according to Bankrate, while the best high-yielding savings accounts pay around 4 percent.
The average yield on the Crane 100 Money Fund Index, which tracks the largest money-market funds, was 3.5 percent as of Jan. 26, down from 3.73 percent on Dec. 9 and 5.13 percent at the end of last June.
Student Loans
There are two main types of student loans — federal and private.
Most people turn to federal loans first. Their interest rates are fixed for the life of the loan, they’re far easier for teenagers to get, and their repayment terms are more generous.
Last year, rates on federal student loans, for money borrowed from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, dropped modestly. (These rates reset on July 1 each year and follow a formula based on the 10-year Treasury bond auction in May.)
Undergraduate loans now carry a rate of 6.39 percent, down from 6.53 percent a year earlier. Rates on loans for graduate and professional students eased to 7.94 percent, from 8.08 percent, while rates on PLUS loans — extra financing available to graduate students and to parents of undergraduates — fell to 8.94 percent, from 9.08 percent.
Private student loans are more of a wild card. Undergraduates often need a co-signer, rates can be fixed or variable, and much depends on your credit score.
Tara Siegel Bernard writes about personal finance for The Times, from saving for college to paying for retirement and everything in between.
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