Finally, CD are seeing some good news on the upside, as rates on longer-term certificates of deposit inch upward, after weeks of stagnation.

For the week, CD rates rose, if somewhat incrementally, for five-year, four-year, and two-year CDs. On the high end, 60-month CDs rose from 2.220% to 2.227%, while 48-month CDs rose from 2.046% to 2.053%. Down the ladder, 24-month CD’s clawed their way up to 1.547%, from 1.542%, but 12-month CDs broke the trend, falling to 1.244% from 1.256% last week.

Six- and three-month CDs fell slightly, to 0.92% (down a single basis point), and 0.61%, respectively.

The relative stability of CD rates seems out of the ordinary for a week where both Treasury and mortgage rates acted with so much volatility. Contrary to public opinion, CDs are vulnerable to interest rate fluctuations in the Treasury and mortgage markets – even though CD principal balances are guaranteed through FDIC insurance – and can move more swiftly than we’ve seen this year.

History buffs may recall that CD rates were at 19% in 1980, when inflation was running high, unemployment was up and the economy was in the doldrums.

Sound familiar? Okay, nobody is saying that CD rates are heading to 19%, but the larger point shouldn’t be missed. In times of severe economic duress – and with unemployment at 10% and the U.S. Gross Domestic Product index mired in negative territory, 2009 certainly qualifies – CD rates can fluctuate more – and certainly more than we’ve seen so far this year.

That’s why upward momentum for CD rates could already be baked into the economic pie, although there are, as always, caveats. The health of the U.S. credit market is a key question, and could be a formidable barrier to higher CD rates (the healthier a bank’s balance sheet, the less of a need to attract more customers and more deposits via higher CD rates). Currently, signs are increasingly evident that banks are getting a tad healthier, and that could stand in the way of any positive CD rate gains fueled by a higher mortgage market or bigger yields on 10-year Treasuries.

But with CD rates so low, there’s more of a likelihood of rates inching upward, following the path of the U.S. fixed-income and mortgage rate markets.

No, it won’t go to 19%. But the ingredients are there for CDs to bust out of their holes and give bank investors a significantly better bang for their buck.

To stay on top of the CD market, so you can lock in those good rates when they come along, gain some leverage with the BankingMyWay CD rate tracker.

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