But with the inflation rate rising and the stock market shaky, even the most optimistic investors are finding it hard to be cheerful. Unless, that is, they own inflation-adjusted Savings Bonds, or I Bonds.

Sandra Block
USA Today
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I Bonds News

May 2013 I Bond Rate

5/1/2013

The CPI-U value increased from September's value of 231.407 to a value of 232.773 in March 2013. The resulting 0.59% semi-annual increase translates to a 1.18% CPI-U-linked rate for the May I Bond. The fixed rate of the newly issued bonds remains 0% for this period of May through November. The resulting composite rate is therefore 1.18% for a newly purchased I Bond.



I Bond Rate for November 2012 - April 2013

11/1/2012

As expected, the I bond rate for the period of November 2012 through April 2013 will have a composite rate of 1.76%. The new composite rate reflects the 0.88% increase in semi-annual inflation as mesaured by the CPI-U index and the new fixed rate, which remained at 0%.


As always, the 1.76% rate is available now for newly purchased bonds while the 0.88% CPI-U change will affect currently issued bonds on the 6-month anniversary of the bond's issue date.

Source http://www.treasurydirect.gov/news/pressroom/pressroom_comeeandi1112.htm

What will the next I Bond rate be? November 2012

10/16/2012
The CPI-U value increased from March's value of 229.392 to September's value of 231.407, resulting in a semi-annual adjustment of 0.88%. Since we now know the inflation-linked rate of the I Bond rate for November, we can calculate the possible new rates. The fixed rate portion of the new rate will not be known until November 1.

CPI-I values for March - September
March April May June July Aug. Sept.
229.392 230.085 229.815 229.478 229.104 230.379 231.407

Possible November I Bond rates
Theoretical Fixed Rate Composite Rate
0.00% 1.76%
0.10% 1.86%
0.20% 1.96%
0.30% 2.06%
0.40% 2.16%
0.50% 2.26%
0.60% 2.37%
0.70% 2.47%
0.80% 2.57%
0.90% 2.67%
1.00% 2.77%
1.10% 2.87%
1.20% 2.97%
1.30% 3.07%
1.40% 3.17%

Since the fixed rate has remained at 0% for 2 years now, I strongly suspect it will remain there, resulting in a 1.76% composite rate for new I bonds sold in November. Since the fixed rate can't decrease, there is no benefit to buying I Bonds now or after the November 1 rate change.

May - October 2012 I Bond Rate

5/1/2012
As expected, the new I bond rate for May 2012 is a composite rate of 2.20%.

The composite rate reflects the 1.1% in CPI-U for the September-March period and a fixed rate of 0.0%. The fixed rate has now been 0% for the past 2 years.

As always, the 2.20% rate is available now for newly purchased bonds while the 1.1% CPI-U change will affect currently issued bonds on the 6-month anniversary of the bond's issue date.

Source: http://www.treasurydirect.gov/news/pressroom/pressroom_comeeandi0512.htm

View: May 2012 Current I Bond Rate

May 2012 I Bond rate

4/14/2012

What will the next I Bond rate be? Now that we have the 6 month change in the CPI-U for September to March, we know what the inflation-linked rate will be in May 2012. We will now know the fixed rate of the new bonds until the May announcement, but we can calculate what the composite rate may be based on different values for the fixed rate.

The CPI-U increased by 1.1% for this semi-annual period. The fixed rate is currently set at 0%, where it has been for the past 3 consecutive periods. If this fixed rate holds, we can see a May I Bond rate of 2.2%.

Theoretical Fixed Rate Composite Rate
0.00% 2.20%
0.10% 2.30%
0.20% 2.40%
0.30% 2.50%
0.40% 2.60%
0.50% 2.71%
0.60% 2.81%
0.70% 2.91%
0.80% 3.01%
0.90% 3.11%
1.00% 3.21%
1.10% 3.31%
1.20% 3.41%
1.30% 3.51%
1.40% 3.61%

 

It seems likely the fixed rate will continue to stay at 0%, which would result in a 2.2% I Bond for the first 6 months. Since the current composite rate is 3.06% and it seems unlikely the fixed rate will improve, there is little reason to wait until May to purchase I Bonds.


CPI-U Update for May I Bond Rate

4/14/2012

The March CPI-U value has been released, meaning we can now calculate the inflation-linked rate of the May I Bond. With a CPI-U increase from 226.889 to 229.392, the semi-annual inflation results in a 1.1% inflation-linked rate for the May I Bond.

 

Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
226.889 226.421 226.230 225.672 226.665 227.663 229.392

October and November CPI-U

12/31/2011

The CPI-U values for October and November show a slight deflationary period since the last CPI-U value for the November I Bond was released. The CPI-U value for October fell from September’s value of 226.889 to 226.421. The value fell again from October’s value to the November value of 226.230. It is far too early to tell what the value of the May I Bond will be, but with deflation or low inflation, the variable rate is sure to be low again.

 

Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
226.889 226.421 226.230

November 2011 - May 2012 I Bond Rate

11/1/2011 The rate for a newly purchased I Bond for November 2011 through April 2012 is 3.06%.

This rate includes the CPI-U change from March through September, which increased 1.53%. The newly announced fixed rate is 0.00%. This is the same fixed rate as the previous 6 months. The resulting composite rate for a newly purchased rate is 3.06%.

http://treasurydirect.gov/news/pressroom/pressroom_comeeandi1111.htm

November 2011 I Bond rate

10/20/2011

Now that the CPI-U values for March through September have been released, we can determine what the range of possible rates will be for the November I Bond.

The CPI-U increase from 223.467 to 226.889 results in an inflation-linked rate of 1.53%. Buying an I Bond in October (before the rate change) would result in 6 months of the current 4.60% composite rate followed by 6 months of the new composite rate of 3.06%.

The new November composite rate cannot be determined exactly since the fixed rate is not known until November. We can determine the possible range of composite rates based on the inflation-linked rate of 1.53% and calculating for different values of the new fixed rate. If you are debating whether or not to buy now or in November, the current fixed rate of 0% does not lend itself to long-term investing while the 4.60% composite rate is more attractive for shorter-term investing. That said, it doesn’t seem likely the fixed rate will rise above 0% in November, either.


Theoretical Fixed Rate Composite Rate
0.00% 3.06%
0.10% 3.16%
0.20% 3.26%
0.30% 3.36%
0.40% 3.47%
0.50% 3.57%
0.60% 3.67%
0.70% 3.77%
0.80% 3.87%
0.90% 3.97%
1.00% 4.08%
1.10% 4.18%
1.20% 4.28%
1.30% 4.38%
1.40% 4.48%

Since the current 0% fixed rate still results in a competitive 3.06% composite rate for a new I Bond, I believe the fixed rate will remain at 0% in November. The official release of the new rate will be on Tuesday, November 1, 2011.


September CPI-U Value

10/20/2011

The CPI-U value for September rose to 226.889. The September value also completes the semiannual period used in the November rate change. Based on the March to September change in CPI-U, the inflation-linked rate for the next semiannual rate change will be 1.53%.

March April May June July Aug. Sept.
223.467 224.906 225.964 225.722 225.922 226.545 226.889

Page last modified 5/1/2012