The Fed's Target Rate Is a Range, and Has Been Since December 16, 2008 — 3.75-4.00% After the September 2026 Increase

The Federal Reserve's own page does not commit to one word. Its policy-rate table is headed "FOMC's target federal funds rate or range, change (basis points) and level", with the level in a column headed "Level (%)"**. The words "or range" are doing the work** — the same table holds both kinds of entry, and which kind you get depends on the date.^[1]

The table dates its newest row September 17, 2026 — an increase of 25 basis points to a level of 3.75-4.00. The FOMC announced the increase on September 16, 2026: its statement says the Committee decided "to raise the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point to 3-3/4 to 4 percent". That is two numbers, not one. Writing that the Fed's rate is 3.75% drops the upper bound; writing 4.00% drops the lower one.^[1][2]

Reading down the table, the format changes on December 16, 2008. That row gives the level as 0-0.25. The rows above it give one number — October 29, 2008 reads 1.00, and December 11, 2007 reads 4.25.^[1]

The cut that made the change was itself a range. The December 16, 2008 row records the decrease as "75-100" basis points rather than a single figure. The narrative on the same page puts it the same way — implementation changed "particularly so since late 2008 when the FOMC established a near-zero target range for the federal funds rate".^[1]

So historical comparisons cross a format boundary. Comparing a 2026 level with a 2006 level is comparing a band with a point. This page does not say how such comparisons should be made — only that the two are not the same kind of figure.^[1]

The FOMC sets the range; keeping the market rate inside it takes separate tools. The page says that from December 2015 the Federal Reserve used overnight reverse repurchase agreements (ON RRPs) "as a supplementary policy tool, as necessary, to help control the federal funds rate and keep it in the target range set by the FOMC".^[1]

It also records later steps: term and overnight repos in September 2019 to keep reserves ample, the same tools amid COVID-related stress around March 2020, and since 2021 standing repo (SRP) operations, which "limit upward pressure and help provide a ceiling on rates". A ceiling is not the target — the page describes it as helping to limit upward pressure on market rates, which supports keeping the federal funds rate in the range; it does not say the traded rate cannot exceed the top of the band.^[1]

One footnote is worth reading as itself: "On July 10, 2024, this date was corrected from March 3, 2020, to March 4, 2020." The official record changed a date and said so on the page.^[1]

This page rests on one institution — the Federal Reserve Board's own site (its Open Market Operations page and the September 16, 2026 FOMC statement) — with no independent cross-check. It reports what that page says, not whether the policy worked.^[1]

Not established: where the effective federal funds rate actually sits inside the current band, which administered rates are used alongside these tools (none are identified or defined on this source page), and whether any level in the table was later revised. The page's footer reads "Last Update: September 16, 2026" and its newest row is dated September 17, 2026, while the FOMC statement announcing the increase is dated September 16, 2026. The source page does not explain why the table uses September 17. Reference date: 2026-10-08.^[1][2]