Interest facts & stats

Question 1

Between 1954 and 2008, the U.S. federal funds rate varied between about 0.25% and what high?

Accepted Answer

19%. Over that 54-year span, the fed funds rate swung from as low as 0.25% to as high as 19% during the inflation-fighting era of the early 1980s.

Question 2

During its hyperinflation crisis, Zimbabwe's central bank raised interest rates to what extreme level in 2007?

Accepted Answer

800%. Zimbabwe's central bank pushed rates to 800% in 2007 in a failed attempt to fight runaway hyperinflation.

Question 3

Roughly how long did the Fed's 2022-2023 rate-hiking cycle take to go from near-zero to its peak?

Accepted Answer

about 18 months. The Fed raised rates steadily over roughly a year and a half, from near-zero in early 2022 to a peak by mid/late 2023.

Question 4

By the 2000s, German interest rates had fallen to roughly what level, down from nearly 90% in the 1920s hyperinflation era?

Accepted Answer

about 2%. German rates cooled to around 2% by the 2000s, a dramatic contrast to the roughly 90% rates seen during 1920s hyperinflation.

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