Today's Financial Rates

Every rate that touches an American household — mortgages, savings, Treasuries, inflation and fuel — pulled straight from government and Federal Reserve data, updated each morning.

📅 Updated August 22, 2026
📌 This is an archived snapshot from August 22, 2026. See today's current rates →

What today's numbers mean

Mortgage rates fell slightly this week to 6.65% for a 30-year loan, down from 6.67%. If you're buying a $400,000 home, that small drop saves you roughly $35 to $40 per year in interest—not transformational, but helpful. The 10-year Treasury yield has climbed to 4.69%, which may limit how much further rates drop soon.

Here's a bigger concern for savers: inflation is still running at 3.3% annually, which means that if your savings account earns less than that, you're quietly losing buying power. The encouraging sign is that core inflation (excluding food and energy) has cooled to 2.47%, suggesting underlying price pressures are easing. This is what the Federal Reserve watches most carefully.

The rest of the economy continues on an even keel. Unemployment holds at 4.1%, the stock market is stable, and gas prices hover near $4.05 per gallon. The picture is one of a gradually cooling economy—neither overheating nor stumbling.

🏠 Mortgage & Home Loans

National averages from the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, published weekly on Thursday.

30-Year Fixed
6.65%
▼ 0.02 pt
Week of Aug 20, 2026
A year ago: 6.58%
15-Year Fixed
5.95%
▼ 0.01 pt
Week of Aug 20, 2026
A year ago: 5.69%
Bank Prime Rate
6.75%
unchanged
As of Aug 20, 2026
Most HELOCs and credit cards are priced off this rate.
Median Home Price
$410,700
Quarter ending Apr 1, 2026
A year ago: $416,100

🏦 The Fed, Savings & Borrowing

The short-term rates that set what your savings account pays and what your debt costs.

Fed Funds Effective
3.63%
unchanged
Aug 20, 2026
A year ago: 4.33%
SOFR
3.63%
▲ 0.01 pt
Aug 20, 2026
The benchmark that replaced LIBOR on floating-rate loans.
3-Month Treasury
3.88%
Aug 21, 2026
A rough ceiling on what money-market funds can pay.
2-Year Treasury
4.19%
unchanged
Aug 20, 2026
Tracks where markets think short rates are heading.

📈 Treasury Yield Curve

What the US government pays to borrow across every maturity. Mortgage rates track the 10-year closely.

3.80
1 Mo
3.88
3 Mo
3.95
6 Mo
4.03
1 Yr
4.24
2 Yr
4.31
3 Yr
4.43
5 Yr
4.57
7 Yr
4.74
10 Yr
5.25
20 Yr
5.27
30 Yr

US Treasury constant-maturity yields, Aug 21, 2026. Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury.

10-Year Treasury
4.69%
▲ 0.04 pt
Aug 20, 2026
A year ago: 4.29%
30-Year Treasury
5.23%
▲ 0.04 pt
Aug 20, 2026
10Y − 2Y Spread
0.50 pt
unchanged
Aug 21, 2026
Below zero is an inverted curve — historically a recession warning.

🛒 Cost of Living

Inflation from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and pump prices from the Energy Information Administration.

CPI Inflation (YoY)
3.3%
Data through Jul 1, 2026
How much more the same basket of goods costs than a year ago.
Core CPI (YoY)
2.5%
Data through Jul 1, 2026
Strips out food and energy — the number the Fed watches.
Regular Gasoline
$4.049
▲ 0.043
Week of Aug 17, 2026
A year ago: $3.125
Unemployment Rate
4.1%
▼ 0.1 pt
Jul 1, 2026
A year ago: 4.3%

📊 Markets & Commodities

Where retirement accounts and fuel budgets get moved around.

S&P 500
7,641.16
▼ 66.82
Aug 20, 2026
A year ago: 6,395.78
Nasdaq Composite
26,067.17
▼ 263.92
Aug 20, 2026
VIX Volatility
16.01
▲ 1.12
Aug 20, 2026
Under 20 is calm; over 30 signals market stress.
WTI Crude Oil
$86.48
▲ 0.44
Aug 18, 2026
Feeds into gas prices with a two-to-three week lag.
Bitcoin
$78,312
24-hour price
Ethereum
$2,514.42
24-hour price

💱 US Dollar Exchange Rates

European Central Bank reference rates for Aug 21, 2026.

Currency1 USD buys
Canadian Dollar (CAD)1.3740
Euro (EUR)0.8548
British Pound (GBP)0.7323
Japanese Yen (JPY)158.7000
Mexican Peso (MXN)16.8980

Where these numbers come from

Every figure on this page is pulled automatically from a primary public source. Nothing is estimated or modeled by us.

Page generated 2026-08-22T07:00:01 US Eastern. Browse past days →