After last week's round of Easter rate boosts, there was less to cheer about this time around for term deposit fans, with most movements downward this time around.
Macquarie and Bank of Sydney were among the providers to cut back the returns on offer.
The news wasn't all sombre though, with a particularly notable round of rate hikes from customer owned MOVE Bank.
MOVE Bank hike rates up to 30 bps
| Term length | Deposit size | Payment frequency | Interest rate (Change) |
| Three months | $5,000-$2,000,000 | End of term | 4.85% p.a. (+0.10) |
| Five months | $5,000-$2,000,000 | End of term | 5.10% p.a. (+0.30) |
| Six months | $5,000-$2,000,000 | End of term | 5.00% p.a. (+0.15) |
| Nine months | $5,000-$2,000,000 | End of term | 5.05% p.a. (+0.20) |
MOVE Bank was the exception to the rule this week, with hikes up to 30 bps across some of its shorter term products.
In particular, a 5.10% p.a. return on the niche five month term appears to be a market leading rate per Savings.com.au's market research.
The rate on the three month product at MOVE Bank is just five basis points behind its one year offering.
MOVE is one of many banks to have shifted emphasis to shorter term deposit products recently, given rates are expected to remain unchanged for an extended period.
This unusual decision from MOVE to offer the highest rate on five month terms could suggest its analysts think it's very unlikely for the RBA to move until at least after September.
Macquarie Bank cuts rates 5 bps
| Term length | Deposit size | Payment frequency | Interest rate (Change) |
| Three months | $5,000-$1,000,000 | End of term | 4.80% p.a. (-0.05) |
| One year | $5,000-$1,000,000 | End of term | 4.65% p.a. (-0.05) |
Readers who also caught the TD wrap on 22 March might notice something about this rate movement from Macquarie.
If you don't remember, or can't be bothered clicking the link, I'll help you out: that week Macquarie boosted three month and one year term deposits by 5 basis points, to 4.85% p.a. and 4.70% p.a. respectively.
The week before that, one year products were cut 5 basis points from 4.70% p.a. to 4.65% p.a..
There's probably a very logical reason to explain this back and forth, but it's funny to imagine this bitterly dividing the Macquarie product team, with the 4.65 faction wrestling back control this week.
Bank of Sydney cuts rates 10 bps
| Term length | Deposit size | Payment frequency | Interest rate (Change) |
| Nine months | $1,000-$1,000,000 | End of term | 5.00% p.a. (-0.10) |
| One year | $1,000-$1,000,000 | End of term | 4.90% p.a. (-0.10) |
Bank of Sydney was another to slash term deposit returns this week, taking one year rates below the 5% p.a.. threshold.
The highest rate at Bank of Sydney is still 5.10% p.a. on six months terms, which is just 5 basis points off the market leaders.
Other movers
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Want to earn a fixed interest rate on your cash? The table below features term deposits with some of the highest interest rates on the market for a six-month term.
Picture by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash
William Jolly
Jacob Cocciolone
