interest rates

Interest rates on most types of farm loans continued to move higher.  A Kansas City Fed report says, following modest increases in short-term rates, commercial banks raised interest rates on loans used to finance various farm-sector purchases.  Followi...

Very few people were surprised last week when the Federal Reserve increased the federal funds rate target range by 0.25%.  With their positive outlook for the U.S. economy, the Feds plan on continuing to raise interest rates well into 2018.  Mi...

The Federal Reserve announced an increase in their basic interest rate after what has appeared to be good economic indicators.   USDA Chief Economist Rob Johannson said that could increase the value of the U.S. dollar.   “And that has the effect of making it more difficult for our producers to sell our products overseas. It makes them ...

The Federal Reserve has again elected to move forward with interest rate increases.  Wednesday’s decision, which was widely expected,  increased the Fed’s benchmark rate to a range between 0.75% and 1%.  The Fed attributed the change to a continued “moderate pace” of growth  in the U.S. economy.   For agriculture, a Depa...

The Federal Reserve Wednesday signaled interest rate increases are likely later this year.  As expected, the Fed chose to leave interest rates at current levels for now, following a two-day meeting this week.  The Federal Open Market Committee of the central bank said economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace.  Federal...