What each central bank pays, and the gaps between them
An interest rate differential is the difference between the policy rates of two currencies. It decides which side of a pair earns the swap and which side pays it, and it is the slowest, most stubborn reason one currency beats another. Here are all eight, and every gap between them.
Rates as the research last recorded them, Wed Sep 23, 2026, 3:14pm.
Policy rates, highest to lowest
The widest gap on the board right now is AUD against CHF: +4.35 points a year before costs. That is the carry, and it is the part of a trade that does not care what the chart does today.
| Currency | Central bank | Policy rate | Next meeting |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUD Australian dollar | RBA | 4.35% | 29 Sept 2026 |
| USD US dollar | Fed | 3.75 to 4.00% | 28 Oct 2026 |
| GBP British pound | BoE | 3.75% | 5 Nov 2026 |
| NZD New Zealand dollar | RBNZ | 2.75% | not scheduled |
| EUR Euro | ECB | 2.50% | not scheduled |
| CAD Canadian dollar | BoC | 2.25% | not scheduled |
| JPY Japanese yen | BoJ | 1.25% | not scheduled |
| CHF Swiss franc | SNB | 0.00% | 24 Sept 2026 |
Rates as each central bank has set them. Where a bank publishes a range, such as the Federal Reserve, the middle of the range is used for the differences below.
Every gap, in points a year
Read the row first: the row currency minus the column currency. A positive number means the row currency pays more, so being long that currency against the column one earns the difference, before your broker takes its share.
| Long | AUD | USD | GBP | NZD | EUR | CAD | JPY | CHF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUD | +0.47 | +0.60 | +1.60 | +1.85 | +2.10 | +3.10 | +4.35 | |
| USD | -0.47 | +0.13 | +1.13 | +1.38 | +1.63 | +2.63 | +3.88 | |
| GBP | -0.60 | -0.13 | +1.00 | +1.25 | +1.50 | +2.50 | +3.75 | |
| NZD | -1.60 | -1.13 | -1.00 | +0.25 | +0.50 | +1.50 | +2.75 | |
| EUR | -1.85 | -1.38 | -1.25 | -0.25 | +0.25 | +1.25 | +2.50 | |
| CAD | -2.10 | -1.63 | -1.50 | -0.50 | -0.25 | +1.00 | +2.25 | |
| JPY | -3.10 | -2.63 | -2.50 | -1.50 | -1.25 | -1.00 | +1.25 | |
| CHF | -4.35 | -3.88 | -3.75 | -2.75 | -2.50 | -2.25 | -1.25 |
These are policy rates, not the swap your broker pays. What lands on your account also carries the broker's spread on the rate and the way it rolls positions over, and it can differ from these numbers by a wide margin.
Why the gap matters, and when it does not
A wide, stable rate gap is a tailwind. It pays you to wait, and it is the reason the funding currency of the moment tends to be the weakest one on any ranking for months at a time.
It stops mattering the moment the market decides the gap is about to close. Rates that are expected to fall move a currency long before the cut lands, which is why the expected path counts for more than the level on the board today.
And it stops mattering entirely in a panic. A carry trade that took a year to earn five points can give them back in two sessions, because everyone unwinds the same position through the same door.
How it counts in the score
The rate level is part of the fundamentals pillar, which is worth up to 35 points of a currency score. It is deliberately not the whole of it: a high rate that the market expects to be cut is worth less than a lower rate that is going up.
In our own backtest over 695 trading days from January 2024, setups that ran against the rate gap did worse than setups that ran with it, in both periods we measured. That is one of the things the model review in October looks at.
The methodology has the rest of what goes into a score.
Questions about rate differentials
What is an interest rate differential in forex?
It is the difference between the policy rates of the two currencies in a pair. Long the currency with the higher rate and you earn roughly that difference over a year; long the lower one and you pay it. Traders call the earning side positive carry.
How do I calculate it?
Take the policy rate of the base currency and subtract the policy rate of the quote currency. For a bank that publishes a range, such as the Federal Reserve, the middle of the range is the usual way to do it. The table on this page does that for all 28 pairs.
Does the higher-yielding currency always go up?
No. The carry is a tailwind, not a direction. A currency whose rate is expected to be cut can fall while it still pays the most, because the market prices the path rather than today's level, and a risk-off week can undo a year of carry in days.
Is the differential the same as the swap my broker pays?
No. Your swap is the policy difference plus the broker's own spread and the way it rolls positions over. It can be far worse than the numbers here, and on some pairs it is negative on both sides.
How often do these rates change?
Each bank meets roughly every six weeks, and the next meeting for each one is in the table. The page follows the research, so a decision lands here on the day it is made. The eight central banks