Federal funds target range

What is the federal funds rate?

The target range has a lower bound and an upper bound. Narwhal API represents it with the instrument federal_funds_target_range and the fields lower_bound and upper_bound. Both bounds are decimal strings in percent per annum, and the unit field is percent. Keep both bounds when you store or display a range response.

Recent rate changes

Federal Reserve policy-rate records use effective_on, the date the rate took effect. This stream records rate-change dates. A response may also include announced_on, which records the announcement date separately. A future effective date never replaces the current rate early, so an announced change and the rate already in force can refer to different dates.

Get the federal funds target range from the API

1. Request the latest rate Access includes every plan, including Free, with live data and one metered unit per request. Send the uppercase country code USA; omitting date selects the latest source observation at or before today UTC.
   Latest rate

   Copy

   curl "https://api.narwhalapi.com/v1/economics/USA/central-bank/policy-rate" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $NARWHAL_API_KEY"

2. Look up a past date Add date to select the latest source observation at or before your chosen day. The API does not invent observations for missing days. Read effective_on in the response to identify when the returned target took effect.
   Rate at or before a date

   Copy

   curl "https://api.narwhalapi.com/v1/economics/USA/central-bank/policy-rate?date=2025-12-11" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $NARWHAL_API_KEY"

3. Fetch the history Set start for the history request. Observations arrive oldest first, with a default limit of 100 and a permitted limit from 1 to 1000. Pass each returned next_cursor as cursor until it is null. Cursors pin publications for 24 hours; an expired cursor returns HTTP 409.
   History from the first covered date

   Copy

   curl "https://api.narwhalapi.com/v1/economics/USA/central-bank/policy-rate/history?start=2003-06-25&limit=100" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $NARWHAL_API_KEY"

{
  "country": "USA",
  "authority": "federal_reserve",
  "currency": "USD",
  "instrument": "federal_funds_target_range",
  "rate_type": "range",
  "lower_bound": "3.50",
  "upper_bound": "3.75",
  "unit": "percent",
  "effective_on": "2025-12-11"
}

History coverage

The history uses Federal Reserve rate-change records. Earlier observations include the point-target instrument federal_funds_target. Read rate_type on each observation because the history contains both point targets and ranges. Each observation has exactly one of effective_on or observed_on; this Federal Reserve stream uses effective_on.

Is the federal funds rate a range?

The Federal Reserve's current target instrument is a range. A range response has rate_type set to range, with lower_bound and upper_bound for its two bounds.

Earlier point-target observations have rate_type set to point, with rate and qualifier. When you read federal funds rate history, handle both response shapes so the earlier point targets retain their published form.

Source

Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System