The Real Fed Funds Rate Level And Its Importance

On January 9, 2017 I wrote a post titled “Low Interest Rates And The Formation Of Asset Bubbles.“  As discussed in that post – and for other reasons – the level of the Fed Funds rate – and whether its level is appropriate – has vast importance and far-reaching consequences with regard to many aspects of the economy and financial system.

Along these lines, below is an updated long-term chart indicating the Real Fed Funds Rate [FRED FEDFUNDS – CPIAUCSL] , with a last value of -5.18259 through July 2021. Of particular note is the post-2000 persistently negative Real Fed Funds rate:

Real Fed Funds Rate -5.18259 through July 2021

source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (US), Effective Federal Funds Rate [FEDFUNDS], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; accessed August 20, 2021: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FEDFUNDS

source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index: All Items in U.S. City Average, All Urban Consumers [CPIAUCSL], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; accessed August 20, 2021: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCSL

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The Special Note summarizes my overall thoughts about our economic situation

SPX at 4405.80 as this post is written