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CD rates nationally and in your area.
CDs
- 0.36% (1-year CD yields)
- 1.2% (5-year CD yields)
For the most part, rates on certificates of deposit paused in their trek toward zero in this week's interest rate survey.
The average one-year CD yield is unchanged at 0.36 percent. The average five-year CD yield is also unchanged at 1.2 percent. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point.
For deposits of $100,000, the one-year jumbo CD yield remains 0.4 percent. The average five-year jumbo CD yield fell 1 basis point to 1.24 percent.
The average money market account yield is 0.15 percent for the second consecutive week.
There is no good answer when it comes to ultralow CD rates. The website for ABC News recently tackled the issue in the story, "Cash-Rich Banks Pay Nothing on Deposits, but You Can Fight Back."
Short-term bond funds are floated as one possible solution, but there is the attendant risk to principal to consider for savers taking that route. Dividend-paying stocks may be an option, but they also will fluctuate in value and possibly lead to a loss of principal, according to the article.
For people who can't take any risk, sticking to very short-term maturities may be the way to go. Though the yields will be nearly nonexistent, savers will be positioned to pounce on higher yields when interest rates do go up.