where to park idle cash treasury yield

Idle cash (money wey you go need for weeks or months, not years) dey earn whatever short-dated Treasuries dey pay, and right now dat one be about 3.82% for a 1-month bill and 3.95% for a 3-month bill, as of Jul 23, 2026. The Treasury yield curve na the whole answer to wetin a parking spot for cash dey earn: im left end na the rate for cash, im right end na the rate for money wey you lock up for years. Dis page dey read the live curve and show how steady the short end don be.

Wetin idle cash dey earn right now?

The yield curve na one snapshot of wetin US Treasuries of every maturity dey yield for one day. Read am from left go right, e dey answer a practical question: how much de government dey pay you to lock your money up for one month, versus one year, versus thirty. The far-left points na the ones wey matter for cash. A parking spot na claim wey you fit turn back into money soon, so only the shortest maturities dey describe am.

SELECT m AS maturity,
       round(y, 2) AS yield_pct
FROM (
    SELECT arrayJoin([
        ('1-month', yield_1_month),
        ('3-month', yield_3_month),
        ('1-year', yield_1_year),
        ('2-year', yield_2_year),
        ('5-year', yield_5_year),
        ('10-year', yield_10_year),
        ('30-year', yield_30_year)
    ]) AS t,
    t.1 AS m,
    t.2 AS y
    FROM global_markets.treasury_yields
    WHERE date = (SELECT max(date) FROM global_markets.treasury_yields)
) WHERE y IS NOT NULL

As of Jul 23, 2026 the 1-month bill dey yield 3.82%, the 3-month 3.95%, the 1-year 4.15%, and the 2-year 4.37%. Further out, the 10-year dey sit at 4.71% and the 30-year highest at 5.17%. For cash wey you go need soon, only the first two points dey count: the 1-month and 3-month bills na wetin a money-market parking spot dey pay, give or take a small fee.

T-bills: the risk-free place to park cash

A Treasury bill na short-term debt wey de US government issue, with maturities from four weeks go reach one year. You dey buy am below face value and collect the full face value at maturity, and the difference na your yield. Two properties make am the default home for idle cash. E no carry any meaningful default risk, so im yield na the number finance dey call the risk-free rate. And the interest dey exempt from state and local income tax, wey dey lift the after-tax yield for anybody wey dey for a high-tax state.

Most people dey hold T-bills without buying dem directly. A money-market fund na pool of these bills and similar short paper, and im quoted yield dey track the short end of the curve within a small fee. When you read say a fund dey pay close to the 1-month or 3-month Treasury rate, dis curve na the source of dat number. The 3.82% on the 1-month point above na, within dat fee, wetin cash dey earn today.

De short end of the curve dey stable?

A parking spot only useful if im rate dey predictable. The short end dey move slowly, and mostly when the Federal Reserve dey move im policy rate. Between those moves the 1-month and 3-month bills no dey drift much. Here na the front of the curve over the last 180 days.

SELECT date,
       round(yield_1_month, 2) AS one_month_pct,
       round(yield_3_month, 2) AS three_month_pct,
       round(yield_1_year, 2) AS one_year_pct,
       formatDateTime(date, '%b %e, %Y') AS as_of_label
FROM global_markets.treasury_yields
WHERE date >= (SELECT max(date) FROM global_markets.treasury_yields) - 180
  AND yield_1_month IS NOT NULL
ORDER BY date

The three lines dey hold a tight band across the whole window. About six months ago the 1-month bill dey yield 3.77%; as of Jul 23, 2026 e dey yield 3.82%, a move wey well under a quarter point over half a year. The 3-month and 1-year lines dey track am closely, with the 1-year dey sit a little higher as the market dey price in where policy fit sit a year out. Dis flatness na the feature. You fit plan around a rate wey no go surprise you between Fed meetings. The longer sweep of how the whole curve shift dis year dey charted for the H1 2026 yield-curve breakdown.

Laddering for lumpy cash needs

Cash flows no dey smooth. A tax bill dey land for April, tuition for August, an estimated payment for the fall. A ladder dey match the maturities of your bills to the dates wey you go need the money. You dey buy several bills wey dey come due at staggered points, so one dey always mature soon while the rest dey keep earning.

The mechanics simple. Split the cash into rungs, and buy bills wey dey mature one month out, three months out, six months, a year. When the nearest rung mature e either fund the need wey dem earmark am for or roll into a new far rung. You dey hold liquidity wey dey arrive on a schedule and still capture the slightly higher yields further along the curve. With the 1-year point at 4.15% against the 1-month at 3.82%, the far rungs of a one-year ladder currently dey pay a touch more than the near ones without leaving the range of genuine cash instruments.

Cash yield versus reaching for duration

The temptation with a decent cash rate na to reach for a higher one by buying a longer bond. Dat extra yield dey real, and im cost dey real too: a longer bond dey swing for price when rates move, a risk wey dem measure as duration. The question wey worth pricing na how much dem dey pay you to accept am. Dis panel dey track the pickup, for basis points, from holding the 1-month bill versus the 2-year note and the 10-year note, over the same 180 days.

SELECT date,
       round((yield_10_year - yield_1_month) * 100, 0) AS ten_year_pickup_bps,
       round((yield_2_year - yield_1_month) * 100, 0) AS two_year_pickup_bps
FROM global_markets.treasury_yields
WHERE date >= (SELECT max(date) FROM global_markets.treasury_yields) - 180
  AND yield_1_month IS NOT NULL
ORDER BY date

As of Jul 23, 2026 you dey pick up 89 basis points of yield to swap the 1-month bill for the 10-year note, and 55 basis points to step out to the 2-year. A basis point na one hundredth of a percent, so 89 of dem na under a percentage point of extra annual yield for taking on a decade of price risk. For money wey you don earmark as cash, dat trade no dey pay often. The point of a parking spot na say im value no dey move. Reaching for duration dey hand back exactly dat property for exchange for a yield pickup wey dis chart show to be modest. Where the longer end of the curve fit the wider rate picture dey laid out for the H2 2026 macro breakdown.

FAQ

Wetin be the safest place to park idle cash?

Short-dated US Treasury bills, wey you hold directly or through a money-market fund, na the standard answer. Dem no carry any meaningful default risk and dem dey mature for weeks go reach a year, so dem price no dey move much. The yield na wetin the short end of the Treasury curve dey pay: about 3.82% on the 1-month point as of Jul 23, 2026.

How much idle cash dey earn right now?

Roughly the 1-month and 3-month Treasury rates, wey dey stand at 3.82% and 3.95% as of Jul 23, 2026. A money-market fund dey pay close to dat, less a small fee. Longer maturities dey pay more, but dem no be cash again: the 10-year dey yield 4.71% and e dey move for price when rates move.

Wetin be a Treasury bill ladder?

A ladder na set of bills wey you buy to mature on staggered dates wey match when you go need the money. As each rung mature e dey fund a need or roll into a new longer rung. You dey keep cash wey dey arrive on a known schedule while you dey capture the slightly higher yields further out on the curve.

I for put idle cash for a 10-year Treasury?

A 10-year note dey pay more than a bill, 4.71% versus 3.82% as of Jul 23, 2026, but e no be a cash instrument. Im price dey fall when rates rise, so e fit be worth less than wetin you pay when you need the money. The pickup for extending, currently 89 basis points over the 1-month bill, na the compensation for taking dat risk.

Every panel above dey ship with the SQL wey produce am. Expand any one to audit the numbers, or read the live Treasury curve yourself on the Strasmore terminal.