News and Advice | PrimeRates

Budget, Credit Cards

Consumers Expect 3.6% Inflation in New York Fed Survey as July CPI Nears

A shopper in a grey sweater reaches toward a shelf of packaged groceries in a brightly lit supermarket aisle, leaning in to read a small price label beneath the products.

Households expect 3.6% inflation over the next year, the New York Fed's July survey shows, with three-year and five-year readings flat ahead of Wednesday's CPI report.

Shelly Warding
August 11, 2026

Budget, Personal Loans

Interest on the Debt Hits $1.17 Trillion With Two Months Left in Fiscal 2026

The neoclassical stone facade and columned portico of the United States Treasury Department building in Washington DC, photographed from the base of its wide granite steps in late afternoon golden light.

Treasury data through July 31 shows the federal government paid $1.170 trillion to service the national debt in fiscal 2026, up 15 percent with two months left.

Mitch Strohm
August 10, 2026

Budget, Personal Loans

July Payrolls Fall 23,000, Cooling the Case for a September Fed Hike

A nearly empty job fair hall late in the afternoon, with rows of folding tables, scattered empty chairs, and a few recruiters packing up banners as long shadows stretch across the concrete floor.

U.S. employers cut 23,000 jobs in July and revisions erased 103,000 more from May and June, pushing September Fed hold odds to about 60 percent. Prime holds at 6.75 percent.

Shelly Warding
August 8, 2026

Budget, Personal Loans

Fed Adds $329 Billion in Treasury Bills as Reserves Hold Near $3 Trillion

The white marble neoclassical Federal Reserve headquarters building in Washington DC photographed at sunrise, with tall columns, bronze doors and a wide stone staircase lit by low golden morning light against a pale blue sky

The Fed held $524.9 billion of Treasury bills on August 5, up $329.4 billion since balance sheet runoff ended, while reserve balances stalled near $3 trillion.

Mitch Strohm
August 7, 2026

Budget, Personal Loans

Treasury Offers $125 Billion in Refunding as Q3 Borrowing Jumps $68 Billion

Wide golden-hour view of the neoclassical United States Treasury Department building in Washington DC, its tall stone columns and portico lit by warm low afternoon sunlight against a deep blue sky, with an iron perimeter fence blurred in the foreground.

Treasury will auction $125 billion of 3-year, 10-year and 30-year securities on August 11 to 13, holding coupon sizes flat as Q3 borrowing climbs to $739 billion.

Laura Adams
August 6, 2026

Budget, Personal Loans

National Debt Reaches $39.84 Trillion, Just $159 Billion Below $40 Trillion

The neoclassical stone facade of the United States Treasury Department building in Washington photographed in golden late afternoon light with an American flag flying on a pole against a clear sky

U.S. public debt reached $39.84 trillion on July 30, 2026, just $158.9 billion below $40 trillion, as the average interest rate on the debt climbed to 3.41 percent.

Mitch Strohm
August 1, 2026

Budget, Personal Loans

Employment Cost Index Rises 0.9% in Q2 as the Fed Holds Prime at 6.75%

American workers leaving a modern office and warehouse district at golden hour during a shift change, illustrating a busy U.S. labor market

U.S. labor costs rose 0.9% in the second quarter of 2026, above forecasts, keeping wage-driven inflation in play as the Fed holds and the prime rate stays at 6.75%.

Laura Adams
July 31, 2026

Budget, Personal Loans

Core PCE Cools to 3.3% in June, but the Fed Holds Prime at 6.75%

Wide morning view of a neoclassical United States Federal Reserve headquarters building with a white marble facade, tall columns, and an American flag on a pole to the right under a clear pale sky

June core PCE inflation eased to 3.3 percent, its first cooling in months, but a divided Fed that held rates on July 29 keeps the prime rate at 6.75 percent.

Shelly Warding
July 30, 2026

Budget, Personal Loans

Treasury 5-Year Note Auction Stops at 4.408%, the Softest Sale of the Week

The United States Treasury building neoclassical stone facade with tall columns in Washington photographed at golden hour with a softly blurred American flag in the foreground under a clear sky

Treasury sold $70 billion of five-year notes on July 27 at a 4.408% high yield with a 2.28 bid-to-cover, the weakest of three note sales this week as the Fed meets.

Mitch Strohm
July 29, 2026

Budget, Credit Cards

Fed Hike Odds Near 40% on Decision Eve as Citadel Breaks From the Consensus

The neoclassical stone facade of the United States Federal Reserve Marriner Eccles building in Washington photographed at golden hour with tall columns, a large American flag, and a dramatic sky overhead

Interest rate swaps now imply about a 40% chance the Fed hikes on July 29 after Citadel Securities forecast a surprise increase. Here is what a hike or hold means.

Laura Adams
July 28, 2026