I'm Greg McBride, senior financial analyst with Bankrate.com, and here is your weekly look at yields on certificates of deposit.
The onset of the Fed's latest stimulus effort, dubbed QE3, is not a favorable development for savers. The Federal Reserve's goal of pushing interest rates lower will translate into even lower returns for savers, and this week provided a glimpse of that. Yields on maturities from 3 years through 5 years each moved lower, resetting record lows.
The average 3-year CD yield is now 0.6 percent, while the 4-year and 5-year CD yields hit 0.79 percent and 0.98 percent, respectively. Larger jumbo CDs – those requiring initial deposits of at least $100,000 – were also lower. The average 3-year and 4-year jumbo CD yields ticked lower to 0.63 percent and 0.81 percent, respectively.
Expect more of the same in the weeks and months ahead as the open-ended nature of the Fed's QE3 program continues to be a drag on savings rates.
However, despite the record low interest rate environment, it is still important to shop around. To find the best yielding cash investments – from online savings accounts and money market accounts to CDs, check out the free search engine at Bankrate.com.
I'm Greg McBride.