Amid Rock-Bottom Rates, 3 CD Deals That Pay

NEW YORK (MainStreet) -- The Federal Reserve has pretty much guaranteed that interest rates will remain low for the foreseeable future, probably for another two years, which is bad news for anyone using certificates of deposit as a savings vehicle or an investment strategy.

CD rates have experienced a major downhill slide in the past year and a half – and, just to be clear, the rates back in June of 2010 weren’t that great to begin with. But they were much better than they are now. Still, that doesn't mean you can't find decent deals on a certificate of deposit, if you can stand the pain.

Here’s a look at interest rates on the main CD maturity periods as of today and 18 months ago, as calculated by the BankingMyWay Weekly CD Rate tracker.

January 30, 2012
60-Month CD: 1.199% (previous week: 1.209%)
48-Month CD: 0.909% (previous week: 0.922%)
24-Month CD: 0.516% (previous week: 0.518%)
12-Month CD: 0.318% (previous week: 0.319%)
6-Month CD: 0.211% (previous week: 0.211%)
3-Month CD: 0.131% (previous week: 0.131%)

June 22, 2010
60-Month CD: 2.059% (previous week: 2.074%)
48-Month CD: 1.751% (previous week: 1.764%)
24-Month CD: 1.180% (previous week: 1.188%)
12-Month CD: 0.738% (previous week: 0.743%)
6-Month CD: 0.480% (previous week: 0.485%)
3-Month CD: 0.307% (previous week: 0.312%)