Interest rates on short term U.S. government securities 2007-2026, by maturity

Interest rates on short term U.S. government securities from 2007 to 2026, by maturity

Short-term US government securities, known as Treasury bills, are debt that matures in a year or less, and they are among the safest assets in the world. Their interest rates have ranged from near zero through the 2010s to above 5 percent in 2023, and sit between about 3.7 and 3.9 percent across maturities in June 2026. Because Treasury bills are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government and mature so quickly, their rates serve as the benchmark for safe, short-term returns and as the foundation on which money market funds and savings rates are built. Treasury bills differ from Treasury notes and bonds only in their maturity, since bills mature in a year or less while notes and bonds run for years or decades, which makes bill rates the purest measure of the very short end of the US interest rate spectrum.

The different maturities, from the 1-month to the 1-year bill, normally move together but can diverge sharply when the market expects the Federal Reserve to change course. The series sits alongside our federal funds rate overview and our federal funds rate statistics coverage.

Four maturities, one story: the 1-month, 3-month, 6-month and 1-year Treasury bill rates fell to near zero after 2008 and again in 2020, surged above 5 percent in 2023, and sit between 3.7 and 3.9 percent in 2026.

From the high rates before the 2008 crisis through the zero-rate decade and the inflation shock of the 2020s, Treasury bill rates trace the whole arc of US short-term interest rates, themes our primary credit rate and short-term interest rates worldwide overviews explore.

A note on the data. The figures are annual averages of Treasury bill secondary market rates from the Federal Reserve and US Treasury, shown in percent. The 2026 figures are partial-year averages as of June 2026 and are approximate. The different bill maturities are quoted on slightly different bases and can move apart at the margin, but over the long run they tell the same story, rising and falling together as the Federal Reserve tightens or loosens policy. All figures are annual averages and so smooth over the sharp moves that can happen within a single year, which is why a crisis year like 2008, when rates fell from above 4 percent to near zero, shows an annual average well above its year-end level.

Treasury Bill Rates by Maturity, Year by Year

The table lists Treasury bill rates for the main maturities, from the 1-month to the 1-year bill, for selected years from 2007 to 2026. It shows how closely the maturities move together and how all of them collapsed to near zero after 2008. Reading across the columns shows the maturity structure at a glance, with the rates usually rising slightly from the 1-month to the 1-year bill, except in the inversion years of 2024 and 2025, when the order reversed and shorter bills paid more. Because the table shows annual averages, the within-year drama is hidden, so the 2008 readings mask a collapse from above 4 percent to near zero over the course of that single crisis year as the Federal Reserve cut rates again and again.

What Does the Treasury Bill Yield Curve Look Like?

The Treasury bill yield curve plots the rate against the maturity, and its shape reveals what the market expects. In 2026 it slopes gently upward, with the 1-year bill yielding about 3.9 percent against 3.7 percent for the 1-month bill, a sign that the market expects rates to hold steady. The slope of the curve is one of the most closely watched signals in finance, because the relationship between short and slightly longer bill rates encodes the collective bet of millions of investors about where the Federal Reserve will take rates next. A normal upward-sloping curve reflects the simple idea that investors demand a little more yield to lock their money up for longer, so when that relationship reverses and short bills pay more, it is a clear sign that something unusual, namely expected rate cuts, is at work.

The shape flips with expectations. In 2022 the curve sloped steeply upward as the market priced in rate hikes, while in 2024 it inverted, with short bills yielding more than longer ones, as investors bet on cuts, shifts our central banks coverage helps explain.

The curve flips with expectations: upward-sloping in 2007, 2022 and 2026 when rates were stable or rising, and inverted in 2024 when shorter bills paid more than longer ones as the market bet on cuts.

Reading the curve is one of the oldest tools in finance. An upward slope usually signals a stable or growing economy, while an inverted short-term curve, where 1-month bills yield more than 1-year bills, often signals that rate cuts are coming. The predictive power of the curve is not perfect, but an inverted short-term curve has preceded most of the rate-cutting cycles of recent decades, which is why economists and investors watch the gap between short bills so closely for early signs of a turn. For ordinary savers the practical message of the curve is simpler, namely whether locking money into a longer bill pays more or less than rolling over a short one, a calculation that flipped in 2024 and flipped back again by 2026.

Where Treasury Bill Rates Stand in 2026

As of June 2026, Treasury bill rates rise gently with maturity, from about 3.7 percent on the 1-month bill to 3.93 percent on the 1-year bill. The short-term curve has returned to its normal upward slope after inverting during 2024 and 2025. The narrow spread of just over 0.2 of a percentage point between the shortest and longest bills reflects a market that sees little urgency for the Federal Reserve to move in either direction over the coming year. Compared with the deeply inverted curve of 2024, when the 1-month bill yielded more than half a point above the 1-year, the gentle upward slope of 2026 marks a decisive shift in what the market expects from the Federal Reserve over the year ahead.

The gentle upward slope marks a return to normal after two years of inversion, when shorter bills paid more than longer ones because the Federal Reserve was expected to cut, a backdrop our financial markets in the US coverage describes.

A gentle upward slope: in June 2026 the 1-month bill yields about 3.7 percent and the 1-year bill 3.93 percent, a normal shape that returned after two years of inversion.

All four maturities now sit comfortably below the 2023 peak above 5 percent but well above the near-zero levels of the 2010s. The narrow gap between them, just over 0.2 of a point, shows a market that expects rates to stay roughly where they are. The return to an upward slope in 2026, after two years of inversion, is itself a signal, suggesting that the market believes the Federal Reserve has largely finished cutting and that short-term rates will settle into a more stable range.

When Does the Short-Term Curve Invert?

The gap between the 1-year and 1-month bill rates shows when the short-term curve inverts. That gap was positive for most of the period but turned negative in 2019, and again in 2024 and 2025, when shorter bills yielded more than longer ones. A positive gap means longer bills yield more, the normal state of affairs, while a negative gap, or inversion, means the market is pricing in lower rates ahead, which is why an inverted short-term curve is treated as an early warning of coming rate cuts. The inversion of 2024 and 2025 was among the most pronounced at the short end in years, reflecting just how confident the market was that the Federal Reserve, having pushed rates above 5 percent to fight inflation, would soon begin bringing them back down.

An inverted short-term curve is a classic signal that the market expects rate cuts, and it correctly flagged the easing cycle that began in late 2024, a pattern our global financial markets overview connects to wider markets.

Negative means inverted: the 1-year minus 1-month spread was positive for most of the period but turned negative in 2019 and again in 2024 and 2025, when the market priced in rate cuts.

By June 2026 the gap had turned positive again, with the 1-year bill yielding more than the 1-month bill, suggesting the market believes the cutting cycle is largely over and that rates will hold near current levels. The swing from a deeply inverted curve in 2024 to an upward one in 2026 captures the whole arc of the easing cycle, from the moment the market first bet on cuts to the point where it concluded that most of those cuts had already happened. That round trip, from inversion to a normal upward slope in barely two years, is a compact illustration of how quickly market expectations can shift once the Federal Reserve makes clear that a tightening or easing cycle has run its course.

Treasury Bill Rates by Era

Averaged by era, the 3-month Treasury bill rate splits the period into clear chapters. It sat at 4.4 percent in 2007, collapsed to about 0.26 percent through the crisis and zero-rate years, and climbed back above 4 percent in the high-rate years since 2022. Splitting the period into eras shows how much of it was spent at rock-bottom rates, with the crisis and zero-rate years and the pandemic together accounting for well over half the period, a stretch of near-free short-term money almost without precedent. The era averages also reveal how brief the high-rate periods were compared with the long years of cheap money, a balance that tilted decisively toward near-zero rates in the fifteen years after the 2008 crisis before inflation reversed it.

The lowest era was the 2020 to 2021 pandemic stretch, when the rate averaged about 0.2 percent, while the 2024 to 2026 period has been the highest at around 4.4 percent, the kind of swing our developed and emerging share price index overview also captures.

Long lows, brief highs: the 3-month bill averaged 4.4 percent in 2007, collapsed to about 0.26 percent through the crisis and zero-rate years, and climbed back above 4 percent since 2022.

Each era reflects the dominant worry of its time, from the financial crisis and the long fight against deflation to the sudden return of inflation. Treasury bill rates, set in the open market, faithfully followed each of these turns. The sharpness of the contrast between eras, from above 4 percent to near zero and back, is what makes Treasury bill rates such a vivid record of how dramatically the priorities of US monetary policy shifted across these two decades.

Every Rate Cycle Since 2007

Across the major rate cycles since 2007, the 3-month bill has repeatedly climbed and fallen by several percentage points. The largest single climb was the 2022 to 2023 cycle, which lifted the rate from 0.04 percent to 5.16 percent in about eighteen months. Each cycle reflects the dominant shock of its time, from the financial crisis to the pandemic and the post-pandemic inflation, with the 3-month bill covering four or five percentage points of ground in the larger moves. The dumbbell view, showing where each cycle began and ended, captures the full range of the 3-month bill far better than any single snapshot, revealing both the scale of the climbs during tightening and the depth of the cuts during crises.

The deepest cuts came in 2008 during the financial crisis and in 2020 during the pandemic, each time taking the rate down to near zero, swings our Nasdaq stock market coverage reflects.

Slow up, fast down: each cycle shows the 3-month bill climbing gradually during tightening and falling sharply during the 2008 and 2020 crises, with the 2022 to 2023 surge the largest single climb.

The pattern of gradual hikes and rapid cuts repeats across cycles, reflecting how the Federal Reserve tightens cautiously but loosens quickly once a recession or crisis takes hold, with Treasury bill rates following each move closely. The repeated rhythm of slow climbs and fast falls reflects the asymmetry at the heart of monetary policy, where the Federal Reserve raises rates cautiously but cuts them aggressively once a downturn or crisis is clearly under way.

How Long Were Rates Near Zero?

For eleven of the twenty years since 2007, the 3-month Treasury bill rate averaged below 1 percent, underlining how unusual the zero-rate era was. Only two years saw the rate above 5 percent, both tied to the 2023 inflation peak. The breakdown by rate band underlines just how extraordinary the period was, with the 3-month bill spending more than half of the twenty years below 1 percent, a level that would once have been considered a deep emergency setting rather than a near-permanent state. Grouping the years by rate band rather than by date offers a different lens, showing not when rates were low or high but for how long, and the answer is that low rates dominated the period to a striking degree.

The long stretch of near-zero rates, from 2009 through 2015 and again in 2020 and 2021, shaped a generation of savers who earned almost nothing on cash, pushing many toward riskier assets like those in our gold as an investment overview.

Half the period near zero: for eleven of the twenty years the 3-month bill sat below 1 percent, and only two years saw it above 5 percent, both tied to the 2023 inflation peak.

The distribution shows just how much of the period was spent in emergency mode. Rates near zero, once considered a temporary crisis tool, became the norm for over a decade before inflation forced them sharply higher. The sheer length of time bill rates spent near zero helps explain why the return of higher yields in 2022 was so welcomed by savers, who could finally earn a meaningful return on cash after more than a decade of getting almost nothing.

Treasury Bills and the Fed Funds Rate

Treasury bill rates track the federal funds rate almost exactly, because both are driven by Federal Reserve policy. When the Fed raises or cuts its target, Treasury bill rates move with it, usually within days. Because the Federal Reserve so tightly controls short-term rates through its target range and its other tools, Treasury bill rates are effectively a market echo of Fed policy, which is why the two move almost as one across the whole period. The tight link between Treasury bill rates and the federal funds rate is exactly why the bills are such a useful real-time gauge of policy, since they reflect not just where the Fed has set rates but where the market thinks it is heading next.

The 3-month bill in particular sits very close to the federal funds rate, rising above 5 percent in 2023 just as the Fed did, a tight link our biggest companies by market value coverage connects to borrowing costs across the economy.

Two rates as one: the 3-month bill tracks the federal funds rate almost exactly, rising above 5 percent in 2023 just as the Fed did and easing back in step since.

Small differences between the two appear when the market starts to anticipate the next move, with bill rates often drifting ahead of the Fed as investors position for hikes or cuts before they actually happen. These small leads and lags are where bond traders make their living, because correctly anticipating the Federal Reserve next move, even by a few weeks, can mean the difference between a profitable and an unprofitable position in short-term government debt. The result is that Treasury bill rates often serve as a leading indicator of Federal Reserve policy, with sustained moves in bill yields frequently foreshadowing the official rate decisions that follow weeks or months later.

When Rates Rose and Fell

Year-to-year changes show the 3-month bill rose in steady steps and fell in sharp drops. The biggest single-year rise was about 3.1 points in 2023, while the steepest fall was nearly 2.9 points in 2008 as the financial crisis hit. The contrast between long flat stretches and sudden bursts of change is the defining feature of the year-by-year record, showing how Treasury bill rates stay frozen for years when the Fed holds and then move violently when policy finally shifts. Translating the smooth rate line into annual changes turns it into a series of discrete shifts, each one ultimately the product of Federal Reserve decisions that the Treasury bill market priced in, often before the Fed itself acted.

Long stretches of almost no change, especially from 2011 to 2015, sit between the bursts of action, underlining how Treasury bill rates stay flat for years when the Fed holds steady, a pattern our global stock markets by country coverage reflects.

Steps up, leaps down: the 3-month bill rose in steady steps but was cut in sharp drops, with a record 3.1 point jump in 2023 and a 2.9 point fall in 2008.

The asymmetry is clear once again. Rate rises tend to come in steady annual steps, while cuts arrive fast and deep in response to a crisis, which is why the largest down moves on the chart dwarf the largest up moves. This asymmetry between gradual rises and rapid falls explains why the largest single-year moves in the record are nearly always cuts, delivered in response to the 2008 crisis and the 2020 pandemic, when the Fed slashed rates in a matter of months.

Treasury Bill Rates Since 2020

Since 2020 Treasury bill rates have made their most dramatic moves in a generation, falling to near zero in the pandemic, surging above 5 percent by 2023, and easing back to about 3.8 percent by 2026. It is the sharpest round trip in the modern history of these rates. The speed of the recent swings sets them apart, because where earlier cycles unfolded gradually over several years, the moves since 2020 compressed a near-zero trough, a record-fast climb and the start of a descent into barely six years. The years since 2020 contain both one of the lowest readings on record, near zero in 2021, and one of the highest of the modern era, above 5 percent in 2023, which means the extremes of the entire period sit within a single short span.

The pandemic collapse, the inflation-driven surge and the careful descent since have all played out in barely six years, a compression of the normal cycle our leading financial centres coverage helps frame.

The sharpest round trip: since 2020 the 3-month bill has fallen to near zero, surged above 5 percent in 2023 and eased to about 3.75 percent, compressing a full cycle into six years.

The recent path shows how quickly conditions can change. Rates that had been frozen near zero for years climbed faster than at any time in decades, before easing back as inflation slowly came under control. The lesson of the recent period is that rates can move far faster than many expect, and that long stretches of stability can give way to violent swings once inflation or financial stress forces the Federal Reserve to act with unusual speed.

Treasury Bill Rates in Numbers

A few numbers capture the history. The 3-month Treasury bill rate averaged 4.4 percent in 2007, fell to 0.03 percent in 2014, peaked at 5.16 percent in 2023, and sits near 3.75 percent in 2026, with the 1-year bill slightly higher at about 3.9 percent. These figures together make Treasury bill rates one of the cleanest measures of the cost of safe, short-term money in the United States, rising and falling in near lockstep with the federal funds rate that anchors the whole financial system. Viewed as a whole, the twenty-year record is a reminder that even the safest, shortest government debt carries an interest rate that swings through an enormous range as the Federal Reserve fights crises and inflation in turn.

Treasury bills matter because they are the benchmark for safe, short-term returns, shaping money market funds, savings rates and the cost of short-term government borrowing, a role our crypto market coverage contrasts with riskier assets.

Together these figures show rates that fell to near zero twice, surged in the inflation fight of the 2020s, and shifted from an inverted to an upward short-term curve, tracing the whole arc of US short-term policy since 2007.

Short-Term Treasury Rates: The Big Picture

Taken together, the interest rates on short-term US government securities from 2007 to 2026 are a compact history of US monetary policy, from the financial crisis through the zero-rate decade and the inflation shock, much of it reflected in the funds tracked in our largest asset managers coverage.

Whether rates settle near their current level or fall back toward the lows of the 2010s depends on inflation and growth, but Treasury bills will remain the benchmark for safe short-term returns and a quiet anchor for the funds in our leading investment banks and largest ETFs overviews.

Frequently Asked Questions: Short-Term Treasury Rates