Prime rate today
The rate most large banks charge their best business customers, as reported by the Federal Reserve in the H.15 release.
Bank prime loan rate
7.00%
Data for: October 7, 2026
Previous: 7.00% (September 30, 2026)
What it is
The prime rate is the base rate posted by a majority of the largest US banks. By convention it sits 3 percentage points above the upper limit of the Fed’s target range, so it changes on the day after an FOMC rate decision.
Why it matters
Home equity lines of credit, many credit cards and small business loans are priced as "prime plus a margin". When the prime rate moves, the interest on those balances moves with it.
Recent history
| Date | Bank prime loan rate | Effective federal funds rate |
|---|---|---|
| October 7, 2026 | 7.00% | 3.88% |
| September 30, 2026 | 7.00% | 3.88% |
| September 23, 2026 | 7.00% | 3.88% |
| September 16, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.63% |
| September 9, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.63% |
| September 2, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.63% |
| August 26, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.63% |
| August 19, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.63% |
| August 12, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.63% |
| August 5, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.63% |
| July 29, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.63% |
| July 22, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.63% |
| July 15, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.62% |
| July 8, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.63% |
| July 1, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.63% |
| June 24, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.63% |
| June 17, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.62% |
| June 10, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.62% |
| June 3, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.62% |
| May 27, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.62% |
| May 20, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.63% |
| May 13, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.63% |
| May 6, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.64% |
| April 29, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.64% |
| April 22, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.64% |
| April 15, 2026 | 6.75% | 3.64% |
Values are weekly averages; in a week when the Fed changes rates, the average falls between the old and the new prime rate.
How to read
Latest: 7.00%
Where it comes from
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, H.15 Selected Interest Rates (weekly averages)
Careful
Information, not advice
What to do
Compare with the related indicators
Reading the prime rate today figure
What the latest prime rate today reading says
The most recent value on this page is 7.00%, for October 7, 2026. Against the previous reading of 7.00%, that is 0.00% — effectively flat. Weekly (averages of business days) is how often Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, H.15 Selected Interest Rates (weekly averages) publishes it, so a single reading is a snapshot and not a trend. The 26 observations in the table above, from April 15, 2026 onwards, are what gives the figure context.
Where the prime rate today figure sits in its own history
Across the 26 readings loaded here, the series moved between 6.75% and 7.00%. The latest value is the highest of that window, which is the kind of reading worth checking against a longer history before calling it a record. A window this short cannot show a cycle. It shows the direction of travel and the size of the usual swing, which is enough to tell a normal move from an unusual one, and no more than that.
Who sets the prime rate today and who it affects in United States
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, H.15 Selected Interest Rates (weekly averages) publishes the prime rate today series, and the page links the exact dataset and its licence below. Nothing here is a second-hand copy: the figure above is read from that source and shown with the date the source gave it. People reach this page searching for "prime rate today", and the honest answer is the published figure plus its date. A national figure is an average: your own rate, bill or salary in United States will sit above or below it.
Glossary
Policy rate
The interest rate a central bank sets to steer the economy, and the floor under most other rates in that currency. It moves only when the rate-setting committee decides, so its history is a series of steps rather than a continuous line.
Basis point
One hundredth of a percentage point. Central banks and markets talk in basis points because "a 0.25 point cut" and "a 25 basis point cut" are the same thing, and the second wording leaves no room for doubt.
Real rate
An interest rate after inflation is taken out, roughly the quoted rate minus the inflation rate. A savings account paying less than inflation has a negative real rate, which means the money loses purchasing power.
Revision
A later correction of a published figure, as the statistics office receives more complete data. Values marked provisional or estimated are the ones most likely to change, which is why the page keeps the source flag.
National average
A figure averaged over a whole country, and therefore not a quote for you. Your own mortgage rate, salary or grocery bill depends on your region, your lender or your shop and will sit above or below the average.
Year-on-year inflation
The change in a price index against the same month a year earlier. It can fall while prices are still rising, because it measures the speed of the increase, not the level of prices.
Yield
The annual return an investor earns by lending money through a bond, expressed as a percentage of its price. Price and yield move in opposite directions: when a bond gets cheaper, its yield rises.
Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, H.15 Selected Interest Rates (weekly averages)
Update frequency: Weekly (averages of business days)
Information only, not financial advice. Figures come from the official source shown and may be revised.