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Brian McKay

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Brian is the Co-Founder of MonitorBankRates.com. For over 18 years, he has utilized his background in enterprise infrastructure to engineer proprietary systems that track rates from over 8,000 financial institutions.

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| August 24, 2026 | 5 min read

CD Rates Slip Across Every Term; 12-Month CDs Still Lead

Banks trimmed CD rates on all eight terms we track this week. The declines were small, between 0.015 and 0.036 points, but they undo most of what longer-term CDs gained in early August. 12-month CD rates slipped to 2.831% and still pay more than any other term.

Last week's report had CD rates rising almost everywhere, led by the longest terms. This week banks took most of it back. Average certificate of deposit rates fell on every term we track, and the longer terms that climbed hardest in early August fell hardest now: 60-month CD rates dropped 0.036 points to 2.734%, almost exactly their late-July level. 12-month CD rates eased 0.024 points to 2.831%, their first decline after a string of small increases, though they still pay more than any other term. Savers didn't lose much this week; mostly, the market went back to where it stood a month ago.

A small step back for savers

Short and mid-term CD rates, national average APY since late March

Average APYs from MonitorBankRates.com's nightly collection, updated daily. Figures in the text and table are this report's verified averages and can differ slightly from the nightly series.

The week's declines were broad but shallow. No term fell more than 0.036 points, and most of the movement reads as banks walking back the increases they posted earlier in the month rather than starting something new. 60-month CD rates gave back their August jump almost exactly, 48-month CD rates and 36-month CDs did the same, and 24-month CDs, down just 0.015 to 2.716%, are now the only term paying more than they did in late July. 3-month CD rates fell for a fourth straight report, to 1.840%, and remain the lone average under 2% by a wide margin.

Longer-term CD rates, national average APY since late March

Average APYs from the nightly collection, updated daily.

Four CD terms now pay almost the same rate

A quirk worth noticing before you pick a term: 6-month CD rates average 2.660%, 36-month CDs 2.644%, 48-month CD rates 2.634%, and 18-month CD rates 2.630%. That's four terms, from six months to four years, separated by three hundredths of a point. This week the 48-month average even slipped past the 18-month, a first in our summer reports, though at this spacing the order barely matters. What matters for a saver is that the market currently pays you almost nothing extra, and asks almost no penalty, across a huge stretch of commitment lengths. The real decisions sit at the ends: the 12-month at 2.831% pays the most, and the 3-month at 1.840% pays notably the least.

Weekly change by CD term (percentage points)

This report's verified averages, August 17 to August 24. Red bars fell.

CD rates this week: August 17 vs. August 24

Waiting on the Fed's September meeting

Nothing happened in Washington this week to explain the trims; the Federal Reserve hasn't met since July 29, when it held its benchmark rate at 3.50% to 3.75% with three committee members voting for an increase, and it doesn't gather again until mid-September. Weeks like this one are banks adjusting on their own, taking back a little of what they added when longer-term CD rates rose earlier in the month. The bigger picture hasn't changed: inflation remains above the Fed's target, nobody on the committee has voted for a cut this year, and banks have priced CDs accordingly all summer, in a fairly narrow range. Until the Fed gives them a reason, small drifts in both directions are probably what CD savers should expect.

Is this the week to lock in a CD?

A dip this small shouldn't change anyone's plans. At the 12-month average of 2.831%, a $10,000 deposit earns about $283 over a year, roughly two dollars less than at last week's average, and the strongest offers in our data still pay well above 5% on 12-month terms. With the middle terms bunched so tightly, spreading money across several maturities gives up very little; our guide to laddering a certificate of deposit explains how that works, and the CD calculator shows what any rate and term combination earns on your actual balance. Savers comparing local offers can line up Ohio CD rates against the national picture, and term-by-term history is on our CD rate trends page.

The bottom line

This week took CD rates back to roughly their late-July levels, and that's the whole story: no milestone crossed, no term suddenly attractive or suddenly not. 12-month CDs still pay the most, short 3-month CDs keep drifting away from the pack, and everything in between pays nearly the same. In a market this flat, the difference between banks is far bigger than the difference between weeks; behind the 2.831% average, 12-month offers in our data run from near zero to just over 5%.