Effective federal funds rate under George H. W. Bush

The overnight interest rate banks charge each other for reserves — the Federal Reserve’s main policy lever, not the President’s.

Over 1989-01-20 to 1993-01-19, measured in Percent:

Term average

6.5 Percent

At the start

9.68 Percent

At the end

3.01 Percent

Change

-6.67 Percent

Low

2.92 Percent (1992-12-01)

High

9.85 Percent (1989-03-01)

Coverage

100% (48 observations)

Reading this series over a presidential term

It is the series most likely to mislead in a scorecard. The Fed is independent, its moves usually respond to inflation and unemployment, and the President appoints governors but does not vote. The site publishes it because readers ask for it, and leaves both the direction and the attribution to you.

A single overnight rate says nothing about the rates households and firms actually pay, or about the rest of the Fed’s tools — asset purchases and guidance about the future do not show up here.

These are the observed values over the window above, and nothing more. This site does not say which direction is better, and none of this is a claim that George H. W. Bush caused the number to move.

What Effective federal funds rate measures · George H. W. Bush: the whole record · Chart it · Compare with another president · The source at FRED