CD Rates Split;
12-Month Edges Up to 2.831%

CD rates went different ways by term this week. The short end firmed, led by the 3-month, while the long end and most of the middle slipped. The benchmark 12-month edged up 0.004 points to 2.831% and still pays more than any other term. Because the front end rose while the five-year fell, the curve’s inversion widened again. The bigger picture has not changed: the Federal Reserve held a fourth straight time on June 17, and with its new projections pointing to higher rates for longer, CD yields stay range-bound.

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NATIONAL: National CD APYs were mixed the week of June 29, 2026, with the short end rising and the long end slipping. The cross-term average held at 2.603%, essentially flat from a week ago, but the terms underneath it pulled apart: three of the eight rose, four eased, and the 24-month held flat. 12-month CD rates, the benchmark, edged up 0.004 points to 2.831% and remain the highest on the curve.

The short end did the rising. 3-month CD rates added 0.027 points to 1.985%, the week’s largest move, though the term is still the clear low outlier, sitting just under 2% and more than eight tenths of a point below the 12-month. 6-month CD rates rose 0.024 points to 2.720%, enough to claim the second-highest spot on the curve. That firmer front end fits the week’s backdrop: short-term Treasury yields have stayed elevated since the Fed’s hawkish projections, and the shortest CDs track them most closely.

The middle was quiet. The 18-month slipped 0.013 points to 2.628%, and the 24-month held flat at 2.670%, the only term unchanged on the week. The 12-month still tops everything at 2.831%, but the belly of the curve stays bunched tightly beneath it, with the 6-, 24-, 36-, and 18-month terms separated by less than a tenth of a point.

The long end eased. 36-month CD rates fell 0.013 points to 2.647%, the 48-month dropped 0.012 points to 2.614%, still the lowest of the multiyear terms, and the 60-month gave back 0.015 points to 2.725%, the largest decline of the week. Because the one-year edged up while the five-year fell, the gap between them widened to 0.106 points from 0.087. The curve stays inverted, with the one-year paying more than the five-year, and that inversion stretched a little further this week.

A quick word on what these numbers are. They are national averages, drawn from rates collected directly off institution websites. What any one saver can actually get depends on where they bank and how far they are willing to shop. Someone comparing California CD rates, for instance, can line up the strongest in-state and online offers against this national picture and see where the gap is worth chasing.

A split week, with the front end up and the long end down, looks busier on the table than it is underneath. The explanation is the same as ever: the Federal Reserve sets the pace, and the Fed has not changed the rate. At its June 17 meeting, the FOMC held the federal funds rate at 3.50% to 3.75% for a fourth straight time, a unanimous decision and the first under new Chair Kevin Warsh. What changed was the outlook, not the rate. The Fed’s updated projections dropped the expectation of cuts this year, and the median now implies the funds rate ends 2026 slightly higher than it sits today, a hint of a hike rather than the cut officials had penciled in earlier. Short-term Treasury yields have stayed firm since, which is why the shortest CDs are drifting up while the long end, less tied to the policy rate, eases. A parked policy rate paired with a higher-for-longer signal is a recipe for exactly this kind of drift.

For savers, the week reinforces the shift of recent months. The case for locking the longest terms rested on the next move being a cut, which would pull yields lower and make today’s rates a ceiling. That logic has weakened. With the Fed signaling rates may stay higher for longer, and a hike at least as likely as a cut, the risk of yields being trimmed from under a saver has eased, and the front end is actually drifting up. The 12-month at 2.831% is still the best yield on the board, so a one-year term remains the sweet spot, while the 60-month at 2.725% offers no reward for committing five years, now 0.106 points below the one-year. With the curve this flat and the inversion stretching, there is little to gain by going long, which is what keeps staggered maturities worth a look; a CD ladder calculator shows how rungs at different terms would roll and reprice if the Fed does hike. Term-by-term detail lives on the CD rate trends page.